Abstract: 
High-flux solar irradiation obtained with optical concentrators is an excellent source of clean process heat for high-temperature physical and chemical processing. Solar thermal power, the area that has traditionally driven developments in concentrating solar technologies, experiences renewed research interests, primarily in the context of large-scale dispatchable power generation. The area of solar thermochemistry aims at direct thermochemical production of chemical fuels and commodity materials. Cheap and efficient solar production of synthesis gas, the precursor to synthetic drop-in hydrocarbon fuels such as petrol, diesel and kerosene, is an intriguing approach to transform today's fossil-based to tomorrow's renewable-based transportation sector. In the most ambitious scenario, synthesis gas is obtained from sunlight, water and recycled carbon dioxide. This presentation gives an overview of recent developments in high-temperature solar thermal and thermochemical processing, from basic research to technology applications.

Biography: 
Wojciech Lipiński received his MSc Eng degree from Warsaw University of Technology (2000), and doctorate (2004) and habilitation (2009) from ETH Zurich. He is Professor and the Leader of the Solar Thermal Group at the Australian National University. His broad research interests are in thermal, chemical and optical sciences as applied to energy, materials, process, environmental and aerospace engineering. Focus areas are light–matter interactions, transport phenomena and chemically reacting flows in solar energy, renewable fuel, materials processing and environmental remediation technologies. Lipiński has published over 125 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, and contributed to several books, edited books and e-books. He was awarded the 2006 Hilti Award for Innovative Research from ETH Zurich, the College of Science and Engineering 2010–2011 Outstanding Professor Award from the University of Minnesota, and the 2013 Elsevier/JQSRT Raymond Viskanta Award in Radiative Transfer. He has served as Associate Editor for the ASME Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Solar Energy and Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer. He is a member of the Scientific Council and Executive Committee of the International Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer, as well as a member of ASME, AIChE and several other professional societies.