Seamless Data Pathways and Optimized Solar Tracking Delivered by Tightly Integrated Control Solution

Innovative solar-thermal technology relies on Logix controllers and FactoryTalk® View visualization software to deliver optimized heat generation, supply, and storage.

BRUSSELS, Sept. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, today announced that its seamlessly integrated hardware and software control solutions are proving pivotal to the success of a new form of carbon-free heat supply and storage.

Solar-capture technology from Danish Company Heliac A/S uses steerable arrays of Fresnel lenses to concentrate incoming sunlight onto receivers placed behind each panel. The heat generated raises the temperature of water flowing through the system, and once the desired temperature is reached, the heat is delivered to where the end-user needs it. The systems include Allen-Bradley® Micro800™ PLCs, Allen-Bradley CompactLogix™ programmable automation controllers and FactoryTalk View displays.

The solar-capture technology, developed by Danish Company Heliac A/S, uses steerable arrays of Fresnel lenses to concentrate incoming sunlight onto receivers placed behind each panel. The heat generated at each receiver raises the temperature of water flowing through the system by about 1 to 2°C, and once the desired temperature is reached, the heat is delivered to where the end-user needs it.

A typical system comprises 144 panels, with each panel assembly using an Allen-Bradley® Micro800™ PLC controlled dual-axis tracking system to dynamically follow the sun to help ensure optimized solar capture. All panels are interconnected via several kilometers of water pipes, while the Micro800 PLCs all feed into a single Allen-Bradley CompactLogix™ programmable automation controller (PAC), which in turn supplies the operational data for the FactoryTalk View display.

“Innovative sustainability solutions come in all shapes and sizes, and not all of them require complex control solutions,” explains Åsa Arvidsson, regional vice-president, sales, North EMEA, at Rockwell Automation. “In Heliac’s application the combination of our low- and mid-range controllers along with FactoryTalk View has delivered an ideal best-fit architecture for both control and operational data collection. We look forward to delivering further support as this new idea gains traction.”

“As well as carbon-free heat generation, our approach to solar energy capture goes one step further due to its use of less-polluting water, as opposed to more traditional oil-based systems,” says Christian Del Mastro, commercial manager at Heliac A/S. “Our lead engineer’s previous experience with Rockwell Automation hardware has been bolstered by support from the company’s Danish distributor, Wexoe, resulting in a control solution that does exactly what we need, backed by the peace of mind that wider global support will be available as we look to grow our geographical user base.”

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 28,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.

About Heliac A/S

Founded in 2014, Heliac A/S develops and distributes high-efficiency thermal solutions to process industries worldwide. Its proven and patented technologies offer a truly automated and flexible high-temperature solar solution, which drastically reduces the costs and carbon footprint of thermal heating.

Its solar fields require a minimum of space and are simple to install and decommission, without harm to natural surroundings. RockStore, its heat storage solution, is a viable game-changer set to release the full potential of solar thermal and power to heat.