Avery Dennison inaugurates large solar thermal platform in Belgium

California-based packaging and materials science company Avery Dennison Corp (NYSE:AVY) today inaugurated what it says is Europe’s largest concentrated solar thermal (CST) field with a thermal storage unit at its Turnhout production plant in Belgium.

The project included the installation of 2,240 surface mirrors with a solar field peak yield of 2.7 GWh thermal power, along with six thermal storage modules with a capacity of 5 MWh thermal power. According to Avery Dennison, this is the largest installation of parabolic mirrors combined with thermal energy storage in an industrial setting on the continent.

The full platform will provide heat equivalent to 2.3 GWh of gas consumption. Moreover, during summer months and high-sunshine periods, it will provide up to 100% of the factory’s heat demand.

The project was a collaboration with Belgian solar thermal specialist Azteq, battery storage provider Energynest and local community group Campina Energie. The latter assisted in securing a portion of the project financing.

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