The design and construction of a 66 kW solar simulator facility is presented. Eleven xenon arc lamps, close-coupled to ellipsoidal aluminum reflectors, emit light that emulates natural solar radiation. The radiation is concentrated on a 60 mm diameter target at a focal distance of 3 m, achieving temperatures over 2000 oC, thus allowing the lab-scale study of solar-thermal and solar-thermochemical cycles of water and carbon dioxide splitting for solar fuels production.

solar, simulator, xenon arc lamps, ellipsoid, reflector, reactor, water, carbon dioxide, splitting, thermochemical, fuels