The rising demand for electricity and heat raises a big challange for the society and engineers. Many products have been introduced to the market to supply more energy to the energy systems. Absolicon AB is a Swedish company that develops and markets a combined heat and power generating product. The product, Absolicon X10, uses a parabolic trough to concentrate the radiation of the sun onto a receiver. The receiveris equipped with mono crystalline solar cells and is cooled by a circulating liquid media. The electricity is supplied to the local grid and the heat is supplied to a local heating system. In this master thesis, the author has developed a number of tests for the Absolicon X10 with the superior goal to enhance the quality and electrical performance. The main areas of interest were: The ribbon connecting the solar cells The correlation between indoor and outdoor performance How the position of the receiver in the trough affects the electrical output A test method for evaluation of ribbons was developed and was applied to a new type of ribbon. The method showed that this new type of ribbon was not good enough for implementation in the production chain. Two types of indoor testing methods were developed, with the aim of determine the electrical performance of receivers. Both methods were unable to do so, but one of them might be good enough with some improvements. A position of the receiver which gives higher electrical output and higher tolerance for the tilt angle of the through was found.

2015 the Paris agreement was signed to tackle the climate change and reduce emissions from fossil fuel burning. The industrial and manufacturing sector which alone accounts for 32% of global energy use relies heavily on fossil fuels. Solar thermal energy is a renewable energy source that has potential of replacing large portions of this energy. The Swedish research and development company, Absolicon Solar Collectors AB are manufacturers of solar collectors and production lines of dito. Their main product, the Absolicon T160, is a concentrating solar collector which can produce heat up to 160°C.India, and more specifically the state of Gujarat is an interesting market for the solar collectors. This study is aiming to give Absolicon a better understanding of the potential of replacing fossil fuel with solar thermalenergy in Gujarat, so that they can direct their efforts in the right direction. It is a qualitative study mainly focused on the dairy and textile processing industry, two important sectors in the state that has process demands which can be run on solar thermal energy. Since no reliable data regarding the energy consumption in the studied industries where found, a method for estimating the energy consumption is presented in the study.The results from the study shows that large scale manufacturing is possible from a demand point of view, but there are many hindrances for a market penetration. In India large portions of the industry segments studied is non-organized, i.e. small scale with low level of modern technology. Integration of solar thermal energy in the non-organized sector demands a different approach. Based on the results a market analysis with suggestions on how to proceed for the different industrial segments studied is presented.Despite good solar insolation in the state the solar resource was studied in greater detail as aerosols and dust can affect the energy yield from the solar collectors. The results indicates that the annual solar irradiation can be both over- and underestimated when using satellite derived models. India has monsoon seasons and seasonal winds which affects the levels of aerosols in the atmosphere. The level of aerosols and dust has ahigh impact on the solar resource.Ground measurements are therefore a complement that could be used to get a better understandingon site.

This study investigates the feasibility and performance of a hybrid system integrating photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal technologies for industrial process heat. By analyzing various parameters including cost, income, energy production, and system specifications, valuable insights are obtained. The study explores the potential of solar heating (SH) systems as a renewable thermal energy source for industrial processes, overcoming challenges of high costs and limited fossil fuel usage in industrial facilities through hybrid configurations. Data analysis includes cost analysis, income generation, energy balance, and system specifications such as temperature ranges, collector sizes, and efficiencies. While acknowledging limitations in simulation simplifications and the use of a single load profile, the study presents conclusions on the system's economic viability, technical capabilities, and potential applications. The findings highlight the importance of hybrid PV and solar thermal systems in enhancing energy efficiency and promoting renewable energy adoption in industrial process heating.

In this thesis report for Dalarna University in Borlange and Absolicon company the study of a possibility to add an array of concentrating solar collectors to a Torsång district heating system was done. The whole idea of this work was to make a simulation of this kind of system, trying to get 15-20% of solar fraction, and make an economical evaluation. At the same time, another goal was to make two comparisons: between concentrating and flat-plate collector in the same system, and between two tools for collector analysis – Polysun and Absolicon tool, based on TRNSYS, which was designed to estimate the output of the collector for a certain temperature, without any load. During the study, the analysis of the simulating tools was made and the combination of those two tools was used. Using long iteration cycles, involving changing the field layout, number of collectors and distance between collector rows in flat-plate collector case, both types of collectors were analyzed. The method of the analysis was to get an equal output of the field and see the differences, which appear while using different collector types.