Economic Evaluation of a Concrete-Based Tank for Molten Salts in Concentrating Solar Power Plants

Advancements in concentrating solar power (CSP) plants are essential for the wider adoption of these technologies. Increasing the operating temperature of the plants is one of the most promising ways to achieve further cost reductions and performance improvements. In this context, progress in suppor...

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Autores: Ribezzo, Alessandro, Borri, Emiliano, Prieto, Cristina, Vérez, David, Cabeza, Luisa F.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universitat de Lleida (UdL)
Repositorio:Repositori Obert UdL
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.udl.cat:10459.1/469784
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031611
https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/469784
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Thermal energy storage (TES)
Refractory concrete
Concentrating solar power (CSP) plan
Molten salts
Economic study
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spelling Economic Evaluation of a Concrete-Based Tank for Molten Salts in Concentrating Solar Power PlantsRibezzo, AlessandroBorri, EmilianoPrieto, CristinaVérez, DavidCabeza, Luisa F.Thermal energy storage (TES)Refractory concreteConcentrating solar power (CSP) planMolten saltsEconomic studyAdvancements in concentrating solar power (CSP) plants are essential for the wider adoption of these technologies. Increasing the operating temperature of the plants is one of the most promising ways to achieve further cost reductions and performance improvements. In this context, progress in supporting components—such as molten salt tanks—is critical to enable these advancements. This study compares a novel molten salt tank based on a refractory concrete formulation with a conventional design made from 347H stainless steel over the period 2015–2025. The prices of refractory concrete and stainless steel were analyzed across the decade to estimate the costs of the corresponding TES tanks in 2015 and 2025. The results showed that, while the concrete-based tank was more expensive than the conventional tank in 2015, the situation reversed by 2025, with the conventional stainless steel solution becoming 11% more expensive than the refractory concrete alternative. Additionally, an analysis of the producer price indexes for both materials highlighted that concrete exhibited a more stable price trend compared to stainless steel, which was subject to greater intra- and inter-year fluctuations. Finally, a brief examination of the 347H stainless steel production chain identified key causes of price volatility, such as the high geographic concentration of its main raw material extraction sites worldwide.This work was partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación—Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) (PID2021-123511OB-C31—MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, UE). Funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Universidades—Agencia Estatal de Investigación (MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) (RED2024-153629-T, PID2024-156068OB-C21, PID2024-156068OBC22). This paper is part of the RYC2023-044196-I, funded by MCIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and FSE+. This work is partially supported by ICREA under the ICREA Academia program.MDPI2026info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttps://doi.org/10.3390/app16031611https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/469784reponame:Repositori Obert UdL instname:Universitat de Lleida (UdL)Inglésinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/PID2021-123511OB-C31info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2024-2027/PID2024-156068OB-C21info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2024-2027/PID2024-156068OB-C22Reproducció del document publicat a https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031611Applied Sciences, 2026, vol. 16, núm. 3, 1611cc-by (c) Alessandro Ribezzo et al., 2026info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/oai:repositori.udl.cat:10459.1/4697842026-06-24T12:42:17Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Economic Evaluation of a Concrete-Based Tank for Molten Salts in Concentrating Solar Power Plants
title Economic Evaluation of a Concrete-Based Tank for Molten Salts in Concentrating Solar Power Plants
spellingShingle Economic Evaluation of a Concrete-Based Tank for Molten Salts in Concentrating Solar Power Plants
Ribezzo, Alessandro
Thermal energy storage (TES)
Refractory concrete
Concentrating solar power (CSP) plan
Molten salts
Economic study
title_short Economic Evaluation of a Concrete-Based Tank for Molten Salts in Concentrating Solar Power Plants
title_full Economic Evaluation of a Concrete-Based Tank for Molten Salts in Concentrating Solar Power Plants
title_fullStr Economic Evaluation of a Concrete-Based Tank for Molten Salts in Concentrating Solar Power Plants
title_full_unstemmed Economic Evaluation of a Concrete-Based Tank for Molten Salts in Concentrating Solar Power Plants
title_sort Economic Evaluation of a Concrete-Based Tank for Molten Salts in Concentrating Solar Power Plants
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Ribezzo, Alessandro
Borri, Emiliano
Prieto, Cristina
Vérez, David
Cabeza, Luisa F.
author Ribezzo, Alessandro
author_facet Ribezzo, Alessandro
Borri, Emiliano
Prieto, Cristina
Vérez, David
Cabeza, Luisa F.
author_role author
author2 Borri, Emiliano
Prieto, Cristina
Vérez, David
Cabeza, Luisa F.
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Thermal energy storage (TES)
Refractory concrete
Concentrating solar power (CSP) plan
Molten salts
Economic study
topic Thermal energy storage (TES)
Refractory concrete
Concentrating solar power (CSP) plan
Molten salts
Economic study
description Advancements in concentrating solar power (CSP) plants are essential for the wider adoption of these technologies. Increasing the operating temperature of the plants is one of the most promising ways to achieve further cost reductions and performance improvements. In this context, progress in supporting components—such as molten salt tanks—is critical to enable these advancements. This study compares a novel molten salt tank based on a refractory concrete formulation with a conventional design made from 347H stainless steel over the period 2015–2025. The prices of refractory concrete and stainless steel were analyzed across the decade to estimate the costs of the corresponding TES tanks in 2015 and 2025. The results showed that, while the concrete-based tank was more expensive than the conventional tank in 2015, the situation reversed by 2025, with the conventional stainless steel solution becoming 11% more expensive than the refractory concrete alternative. Additionally, an analysis of the producer price indexes for both materials highlighted that concrete exhibited a more stable price trend compared to stainless steel, which was subject to greater intra- and inter-year fluctuations. Finally, a brief examination of the 347H stainless steel production chain identified key causes of price volatility, such as the high geographic concentration of its main raw material extraction sites worldwide.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031611
https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/469784
url https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031611
https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/469784
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/PID2021-123511OB-C31
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2024-2027/PID2024-156068OB-C21
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2024-2027/PID2024-156068OB-C22
Reproducció del document publicat a https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031611
Applied Sciences, 2026, vol. 16, núm. 3, 1611
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv cc-by (c) Alessandro Ribezzo et al., 2026
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
rights_invalid_str_mv cc-by (c) Alessandro Ribezzo et al., 2026
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Repositori Obert UdL
instname:Universitat de Lleida (UdL)
instname_str Universitat de Lleida (UdL)
reponame_str Repositori Obert UdL
collection Repositori Obert UdL
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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