Now even 3M is getting into the solar biz. The huge Minnesota company is famous for the Post-It Note and other mainstays of Western civilization, but now their excellent materials scientists have been put to work creating a reflective foil that can be used to make the (already rather cheap) mirrors in solar thermal trough technology – even cheaper, through mass production.
They are not the first midwestern US giant of industry to enter this field. Alcoa also has a way to make the mirrors in solar thermal trough technology cheaper, through the use of aluminum for the mirror.
3M’s solution is to make a sticky-backed polymer sheath that protects a micro-layer of highly reflective copper and silver. Their new film would reflect more light than traditional mirrors, increasing power output in a given area.
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