James S. Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility
College of Engineering
Solar Innovation
Valpo’s Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility houses one of five U.S. solar furnaces – the only one at an undergraduate institution – giving students hands-on experience in solar energy. Made possible by James S. Markiewicz ’72 and the U.S. Department of Energy, the facility inspires future engineers to pursue their passion.
College of Engineering
Engineering a Sustainable Future
The James S. Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility (SERF) is used to investigate processes capable of using sunlight to produce solar fuels and valuable industrial commodities. The 2,000-square-foot facility is adjacent to the Gellersen Engineering and Mathematics Center, home to the College of Engineering. The solar facility brings faculty and undergraduate students together to develop solutions to the pressing global challenge of developing viable renewable energy sources. The Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility links quality teaching to quality research.
☼ Of special note, many engineering students worked on the design and building process of the James S. Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility.
The solar furnace consists of six main parts, which are depicted below.
The 20-foot-by-20-foot flat mirror, called the heliostat, sits in front of the furnace building and tracks the sun, directing the light into the concentrator. The concentrator at the Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility is composed of 303 spherical mirrors. A set of louvers stands between the heliostat and the concentrator, regulating how much light reaches the concentrator. The concentrator focuses the light as does a magnifying glass. A solar thermal reactor is located at the focal point of the concentrated light. The solar furnace is capable of generating temperatures in excess of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit within the reactor.
The extremely high temperatures in the reactor enable a wide range of industrial processes and therefore opens the door to a wide range of research. Valpo faculty and students are active participants in the international effort of developing the science and engineering technology required to produce solar commodities from concentrated sunlight.
Valparaiso students and faculty actively engage in:
- producing solar hydrogen from water and concentrated sunlight via
- redox cycles with metal oxides like perovskites (active collaboration with Arizona State University, University of Michigan, and Sandia National Laboratory)
- solar thermal decoupled water electrolysis project (past collaboration with Sandia National Laboratory)
- extracting metals from their ores. Concentrated sunlight provides process heat for high temperature electrolysis of zinc oxide or magnesium oxide, without producing any waste. Zinc or magnesium could be used in a fuel cell to generate electricity, but are also valuable as a commodities. Zinc is needed for galvanizing steel, while magnesium alloys are critical for light-weight, high-strength components.