The general objective of this proposal is to advance to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 the development of a very innovative heliostat and to start building its business case to maximize social and economic impacts for Cyprus. This heliostat has the potential to be a game changer for solar tower technology, which is one of the most promising of the Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) technologies.

Specifically, this proposal aims to advance to TRL 4 a multifaceted variable focal length heliostat (VariFocaLH) that can continuously change not just its orientation, as current heliostats do, but also the alignment of its facets and, thereby, its focal length. Such a heliostat will:

• Provide the enabling technology for the development of a new generation of solar tower systems (multi-tower and multi-aiming solar towers), which hold the promise of being substantially more cost effective than the state-of-the-art.
• Facilitate the standardization of heliostats across all types of solar tower technologies and systems (including current mono-tower systems), since one heliostat type will suffice for any position on the heliostat field, contrary to the current state-of-the-art.
• Enable the design of solar testing facilities with a much larger degree of flexibility regarding their sunlight concentration capabilities.
• Contribute to establish a path towards the creation of a CST industry in Cyprus, offering an opportunity of diversification and internationalization to the actual value chains.