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Glenn
Research Center
1985 Phase II
Fresnel Lens
Photovoltaic Concentrator Array
ENTECH,
Inc.
Keller, TX
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INNOVATION
Domed/Arched refractive
concentrator system providing higher efficiency at lower weight and
cost
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Solar Concentrator Array using Refractive Linear Element Technology
(SCARLET) Space Array
Optional Powerpoint
file
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Developed
both Point-Focus Mini-Dome lens and Line- Focus Cylindrical Lens
Arrays for space power application
- Concentrator
array provides spacecraft power at one-half to one-third the cost
of current planar arrays
- Received the
prestigious Schreiber-Spence Technology Achievement (1999) and Turning
Goals into Reality (2001) Awards
- Achieved first
demonstration of over 30% net operating efficiency for a photovoltaic
system under outdoor conditions
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COMMERCIALIZATION
- Over $1 Million in Space Lens
sales to date to Boeing, AEC-Able Engineering, and others
- More than 20 new jobs
were created at these companies
- Concentrator arrays now being
commercialized/marketed by AEC-Able Engineering/ENTECH team
- Approximately $10M in space
array sales to date by ENTECH and the concentrator team
- Approximately $3M in Phase
III funding from NASA Glenn, NASA Marshall, and private industry
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GOVERNMENT/SCIENCE
APPLICATIONS
- NASA/USAF/Boeing PASP+ (Photovoltaic
Array Space Power plus Diagnostics) experiment flown in 1994 - first
in-space demonstration of ENTECH lens concept
- First demonstration of photovoltair
(PV) concentrators as an operational power system in 1998. The highly
successful 2,600 watt SCARLET PV array on JPL's New Millennium Deep
Space One Mission provided primary power for the electric propulsion
ion engine and spacecraft, enabling the probe to reach its targets
(asteroid Braille 7/99 and comet Borrelly 9/01)
- Under NASA Glenn's Energetics
Program, an advanced concentrator was developed providing 4X more
power per unit mass than the SCARLET array
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