Heliogen: Replacing Fossil Fuels with Sunlight

In November 2019, the new California-based company Heliogen reported an exciting breakthrough in solar-concentration technology. The startup focuses on using clean energy to eliminate the need for fossil fuels. The breakthrough at Heliogen offers carbon-free, cost-effective solar technology to replace fossil fuels, thus bringing about the hope of decarbonizing these large emitters of greenhouse gasses. It was the potential of transforming heavy industry through renewable energy and mitigating climate change that motivated Bill Gates to invest in Heliogen. Using CO2 obtained from the atmosphere, solar fuels produced by concentrated solar thermal energy will be completely carbon neutral. “Our HelioHeat can be used by customers to replace their use of harmful fossil fuels. The world's first technology that can commercially replace fossil fuels with carbon-free ultra-high temperature heat from the Sun, taking a major step towards solving climate change.”