Yissum Research Development Company signs solar research agreements with BrightSource Industries Israel

2 November 2009

Yissum Research Development Company, the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has signed two research agreements with solar energy provider BrightSource Industries Israel for the development of new materials for solar thermal power plants.

Under the agreement, BrightSource will fund research by the laboratories of professors Daniel Mandler and Shlomo Magdassi from the Institute of Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In addition to payment of research fees, BrightSource will compensate Yissum upon the implementation of the technology in its solar power plants, the company said.

The new materials may be integrated in the solar thermal power plant technology developed by BrightSource and implemented in new utility-scale power plants worldwide, according to a statement. The BrightSource technology generates electricity from solar energy by using a field of mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a boiler mounted atop the central LPT- Luz power tower, where water is converted into superheated steam that drives a turbine generator.

Yoel Gilon, senior vice president of BrightSource, said, ‘BrighSource’s partnership with Yissum will leverage the academic and research excellence of the Hebrew University to develop cutting-edge new technologies for clean, cost-effective solar thermal power plants.’

Yissum Research Development Company of was founded in 1964 to protect and commercialise the Hebrew University’s intellectual property. Products based on Hebrew University technologies that have been commercialised by Yissum generate $1.2bn in annual sales. Yissum has registered over 6,100 patents covering 1,750 inventions, licensed 480 technologies and spun-off 65 companies.

BrightSource Energy has contracted to sell more than 2.6GW of power to be generated using its proprietary solar thermal technology. Headquartered in Oakland, California, BrightSource Energy is a privately held company with operations in the United States and Israel. BrightSource Industries Israel is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BrightSource Energy, located in Jerusalem.

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Tags: solar

This story was published on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 2:56 pm and is filed under Europe, Middle East, deals, solar. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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