Historically, the collection and conversion of sunlight into stored energy has been too limited and too inefficient to take advantage of this abundant, renewable resource. Mathematical modeling of a new proprietary medium mixture indicates very high conversion efficiencies from sunlight into a storable form of high temperature solar energy. The purpose of this research is to construct a test vessel to rigorously quantify the storage capability of our solar energy vessel and to validate our mathematical models of the storage media. This new technology can be constructed of simple, inexpensive materials and efficiently store solar energy. This stored energy can be used in multiple applications, with our initial emphasis being HVAC. The energy savings would be tremendous for industrial, commercial and residential applications, including rural operations. It is our belief that our storage vessel would allow solar energy to replace current fossil fuel usage, saving the agricultural producer thousands of dollars annually. The potential for increased profitability and the resulting reduction in consumer pricing makes this a very important project. Additionally important is the great potential for job creation upon commercialization of this project. There is an abundant global marketplace for this product, due to the proliferation of solar energy products in use worldwide. Our Solar Thermal Storage Vessel will answer the universal problem of all solar thermal energy products, which is its inability to perform in non-solar hours. OBJECTIVES: The overall goal for Phase I of this SBIR project is to test the feasibility of a storage vessel capable of storing, the sun's energy and storing it for used during hours when the sunlight is not available. The sun emits over 6,000 times more energy then the world needs. Current technology permits users to capture that energy during the day when available, but challenges remain in storing the energy for use when the sun disappears. Conventional solar storage consists of a water storage tank that, for safety reasons, can only store water at 200 degrees. An 80-gallon water heater can only store 85,224 BTU, at 200 degrees, which is only enough heat to meet the winter-time needs of an average 1400 square-foot home for one hour at zero degrees ambient temperature, assuming a thermostat setting of 72 degrees. APPROACH: Objective 1: Test defined media for center core of storage tank. Objective 2: Test defined media for the outer core of storage tank
