According to the firm, the larger prototype includes a 1,485-square-foot (138 square meters) heliostat made of 40 movable mirrors that track the sun<\/a> and reflect its rays towards a 32-foot-wide (10 meters) concave dish concentrator. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, the smaller system features a 323-square-foot (30 square meters) heliostat, as well as a compact 129-square-foot (12 square meters) concentrator which consists of about 460 mirrors. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n The light is directed onto a crucible inside a solar reactor<\/a>, and melts metal scraps that are then cast into new ingots. Both furnaces rely on the same two-step process that captures sunlight and amplifies its intensity thousands of times.<\/p>\n \u201cThis second design, which we plan to prioritize for future use, can concentrate light up to 5,500 times the intensity of the sun, generating temperatures as high as 2,000 degrees Celsius [3,632 degrees Fahrenheit] in the crucible,\u201d Lo\u00efc Bonsack, innovation and industrialization project manager at Panatere, stated.<\/p>\n The figures were verified by simulations from researchers at the Universit\u00e9 de Franche-Comt\u00e9 and the Haute \u00c9cole Arc Ing\u00e9nierie (HE-Arc), who collaborated with Panatere under the Interreg France\u2013Switzerland Rasol program.<\/p>\n A cleaner future<\/p>\n The company will continue working with local companies to test and refine the technology over the next few years. It plans to open a full-scale factory by 2028, either at the current site or in the Wallis mountains of southwestern Switzerland.<\/p>\n Once in operation, the company aims to produce up to 1,000 tons of recycled steel per year using solar energy alone. Officials believe that the innovation<\/a> can significantly reduce carbon emissions while also promote circularity in the high-end manufacturing sector. <\/p>\n \u201cOur role also includes analyzing the recycled steel alloys to ensure their quality,\u201d Raymond Constantin, a specialist in materials characterization, said in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/A2_b94ccb.jpeg\" "\\"World\u2019s")
The first two solar furnaces were installed at La Chaux-de-Fonds.
Credit: Panatere<\/a><\/p>\n