SUN-DT moves towards the full digitalization of tower CSP plants to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs
The project, in which IMDEA Networks participates, strengthens Europe’s technological leadership in renewable energy
IMDEA Networks Institute
The European project SUN-DT, in which IMDEA Networks participates and which is funded by Horizon Europe, officially launched its activities in October 2025. Formed by a consortium of nine international organizations and coordinated by CENER, the initiative aims to drive the digital transition of tower concentrated solar power (CSP) plants.
These facilities use thousands of mirrors (heliostats) that track the sun and concentrate its light onto a receiver placed at the top of a tower. There, the captured solar energy is converted into high-temperature heat, which is later transformed into electricity. Although tower CSP is becoming the dominant technology worldwide, plant performance still depends on extremely complex field operations, with thousands of heliostats, high-temperature receivers and storage systems that must work in perfect synchrony. This is why digitalization is essential to maximize efficiency, cut costs and accelerate deployment.
“With the rapid growth of new tower plants worldwide, Europe must close this digitalization gap now to maintain its leadership and bring costs below the targets set out in the EU’s Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan,” says Joerg Widmer, principal investigator of the project and Research Director at IMDEA Networks.
Widmer adds: “SUN-DT pushes tower concentrated solar power (CSP) technology into a fully digital era. By combining AI-based calibration, predictive maintenance and real-time optimization, we enable plants to operate more efficiently and reliably than ever before. This project strengthens Europe’s technological leadership in renewable energy.”
IMDEA Networks’ role
IMDEA Networks leads the development of the 5G wireless communication layer that will enable the characterization and calibration of heliostats. Its contribution is key to making this tool viable at scale: it provides reliable, high-capacity links across the entire solar field, ensures robust data collection and enables real-time feedback loops.
“We bring deep expertise in wireless sensing and network architecture, as well as testbed-grade infrastructure —such as the NEXTONIC laboratory— which allows us to prototype and validate communication components under realistic conditions,” Widmer explains.
Digital tools
The project will develop four interoperable digital tools —HELIOSTATACC, SUN-DTWIN, D-OPT and PREDOM— that will measurably improve the performance of tower CSP plants. These technologies automate solar-field calibration, generate a digital twin for real-time decision-making, optimize energy dispatch (i.e., how energy is delivered to the grid at any given moment), and enable predictive maintenance.
The objective is to demonstrate:
- Higher solar-field efficiency and reduced optical losses.
- Lower operational and maintenance costs and reduced downtime through predictive maintenance.
- Improved energy dispatch optimization, enabling CSP to participate in grid ancillary services.
- More competitive renewable generation costs, aligned with the targets of the European SET Plan.
All these tools will be integrated into a unified SUN-DT platform, which will be tested and validated in two experimental facilities and two commercial CSP tower plants: Khi Solar One in South Africa and Cerro Dominador in Chile. These plants are operated by two consortium partners and global leaders in solar energy, COX and ACCIONA respectively, and represent different CSP tower configurations.
“For example, a heliostat calibration and characterization system will automatically detect any misalignment in real time and recommend corrective actions. Instead of scheduling full maintenance rounds, operators will adjust only the mirrors that truly require intervention. This directly improves optical efficiency and saves numerous hours of field work,” Widmer concludes.
