Bosch to install automated heliostat line at RayGen’s facility by year’s end

Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions (BAMS) has announced that it is working with solar cell manufacturer and renewable energy project developer RayGen Resources to automate production.

In a statement from Bosch on Thursday, it said the project was focussed on assembly of heliostats, which track the sun and focus its light. Assembly will be on a “highly automated production line” designed by BAMS and deployed on site at RayGen’s first utility-scale project “by the end of the year”.

“Automating our assembly processes with the best industry experts is essential for our mission to scale RayGen’s technology to a global customer base. We’re delighted to partner with Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions and we look forward to working more closely with the Bosch team,” said RayGen Chief Executive Officer, Richard Payne.

Each heliostat measures approximately 4 by 5 metres and contains eight individual mirror panels, assembled to tight tolerances to maximise energy produced.

“With this project, RayGen is further advancing Australia’s leading position in the application of renewable technologies. We are excited to be a part of it,” added Gavin Smith, President Bosch Oceania.

RayGen announced completion of a $51 million capital raise, led by oil and gas services company SLB, in April.

The company was established in 2010. Its renewable energy solution combines non-polysilicon-based solar PV panels and thermal water-based energy generation and storage, with a claimed “70 per cent round-trip efficiency”.

It runs a flagship demonstration project at Carwarp, just south of Mildura in northwest Victoria, generating 4 megawatts of solar and 2.8 megawatts /50 megawatt hour of storage. The site has been selling energy to the grid for the last two years.

A planned utility-scale 200 megawatt solar and 115 megawatt / 1.2 gigawatt hour storage deployment is also set for Carwarp, with ARENA awarding $10 million in funding for the Solar Power Plant Two: Phase 1 project in August last year.

Picture: Payne and Smith (supplied)

Further reading

RayGen to scale up manufacturing after $51 million raise

RayGen Resources opens new site, gets $10 million ARENA funding

Solar PV and wind still the cheapest – CSIRO