• DLR
• FH Aachen − SIJ
• RWTH Aachen − IRT
• RWTH Aachen − IDG
• KU Leuven − OPTEC

DLR SolarResearch

DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.) is Germany's Aerospace Research Establishment and focuses its program of work on the four key areas: aviation, space flight, traffic and energy technology. With some 5.300 employees, the German Aerospace Center is the largest establishment for engineering sciences, research and management in Germany. DLR maintains research centers in Cologne, Stuttgart, Berlin, Braunschweig, Lampoldshausen, Göttingen and Oberpfaffen-hofen in Germany. It is sustained by public funds and third party financing.

Concerning concentrating solar technologies, DLR hosts one of the world's leading research teams and is the leading research institution in Germany. With more than 60 employees, the Unit Solar Research pursues the development of concentrating solar systems for heat, power and fuel generation for a sustainable energy supply. DLR maintains own solar test facilities like the Solar Furnace and the SOPRAN parabolic trough test facilities in Cologne, Germany and participates in large scale solar power testing facilities with a permanent team at the Spanish solar test centre Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA) in Spain on the basis of a long standing co-operation with the Spanish R&D Organisation CIEMAT. With its own experience as solar plant contractor and operating agent, DLR can offer best references as independent consultant in this field including market knowledge about all international solar thermal key component suppliers.

Over 20 years of continued techno-economic systems analysis, laboratory research and pilot scale demonstration have been carried out in the field of solar thermal technologies including parabolic trough, central solar tower, parabolic dish and linear fresnel systems. With the active promotion of commercial solar power projects, DLR has gained long year experience in technology, independent solar thermal site and feasibility studies, detailed cycle modelling and performance prediction, system engineering, solar field design, economic and financial evaluation.

The numerical models developed over the years, cover the whole range from pre-feasibility analysis to in-depth thermodynamic component simulation. They have been qualified with experimental system data obtained during the measurement campaigns at the Plataforma Solar. Together with DLR's tools for solar radiation resource assessment and economic analysis, they supply the basis for early-stage techno-economic assessment and feasibility studies.