Maury White ’61 is exploring solar technology for the next generation and beyond.
The PowerDish is currently in use in pilot installations. Infinia
hopes to begin large-scale production later this year by taking advantage of unused capacity in U.S. auto parts manufacturing plants. The main materials in the PowerDish—steel, aluminum, copper, glass—are the same as those in car parts, and they also need stamping, casting and other similar manufacturing pro- cesses. Thus, a machine that stamps interior door panels for cars also produces the ribs that support the solar concentrator. Com- panies that make rear view mirrors likewise produce mirrors for the concentrator. “It’s very much taking the automotive supply chain and
using the established machine tools and infrastructure that they have and just getting some customized tooling.” Because of this, White says, “We are, I think, the only solar technology that can scale within a very short period of time to as high a quantity as the market will bear.” As exciting as the PowerDish is, White spends most of his time looking ahead, working on research and development for
new products. One of these is a 30 kW solar dish that utilizes a multicylinder free piston Stirling engine that White patented four years ago. He is also developing a PowerDish that can store thermal energy to provide electricity after dark, generators for advanced military operations, a combination Stirling engine/ Stirling refrigerator, and a Stirling generator heated by an an- aerobic digester for use in developing nations. “[Our CEO] wanted me to get out there thinking not just about
the next generation of the technology and applications but two generations out,” White says. “That’s the kind of thing that I’ve been able to do over these past few years, and it has generated what promises at this point to be some very successful applications.”
Linley Erin Hall ’01, the author of “Who’s Afraid of Marie Curie? The Challenges Facing Women in Science and Technology,” is a frequent con- tributor to the HMC Bulletin.
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