A workshop, to take place in Brussels today, will explore the possibilities for African and European researchers and industry to work jointly on renewable energy solutions for radio astronomy projects.
Major research infrastructures for radio astronomy are going to be built in the Southern Hemisphere in high irradiance zones. This presents opportunities to develop photovoltaic and solar thermal installations that are suitable to satisfy the major energy demand of radio telescopes while preserving the environment.
The workshop will inform researchers and industry about the various co-operation and funding instruments available to support future co-operation projects that can help to meet this energy challenge.
Further, the FP7 project BIOSTIRLING 4 SKA, which aims to build and test a real-scale small solar plant demonstrator to feed prototypes for the Square Kilometre Array, will also be presented at the workshop as a concrete example of research collaboration.
A moderated group discussion will allow participants to brainstorm about project proposals for African-European co-operation and discuss how to use available funding instruments.
The workshop is one in a series of planned African-European Radio Astronomy Platform (AERAP) events, responding to the call of the European Union to strengthen African-European research partnerships in the field of radio astronomy.
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