The first Powder2Power Consortium meeting, held virtually on April 3rd, 2024, marked the milestone in the project six-month progress since the project Kick-off meeting held in October 2023.

During the meeting, leaders from various Work Packages (WP) shared notable achievements and outlined forthcoming activities until the next project meeting in October 2024.

• Following the meeting agenda, the cross-cutting WP1 “Project Management” has been the first to present providing insights into the submission of the first project deliverables establishing the framework, protocols, and procedures for a sound and smooth project management.
• Similarly, the transversal Work Package “Communication, Exploitation, Dissemination” (WP6) discussed the status of the implemented activities and the tasks planned until October 2024. In particular, it addressed the presentation of project graphical identity, website launch and awaited actions, such as creation of project social media accounts, newsletter and further development of project promotional materials. The finalization of the overall project Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication Plan is slated for April 2024.
• In the second part of the meeting, the technical WPs have been presented. The WP2, focusing on the behavior, transport, and handling of the particles used as heat transfer medium and storage material in the CSP plant, reported a significant progress from the beginning of the project. Recent achievements include advancement in the assessment of particle transport issues and ongoing preparations for electric particle heater’s design decisions. Additionally, two papers on WP2 activities are being prepared for publication.
• The WP3 “Solar Pilot Modification, Component testing and complete Pilot Demonstration” presented the work carried out for the preparation of the research infrastructure Thémis solar power tower premises in Targasonne (France) where the project complete particle-based CSP prototype will be installed and tested. The turbine manifold’s dismantling activities inside the tower have been started, including the certification of the telescopic crane and preparation for turbine relocation from the tower top to the ground. Future tasks non-exhaustively involve turbine lowering, and preparation of the experimental campaign in 2025 with a small solar loop atop the tower to be implemented.
• Furthermore, the project partners have initiated discussions on upscaling of the P2P technology for commercialization (WP4), introducing two case studies for the commercial units. Several technical meetings have been scheduled to explore the proposed scenarios for upscaling.

Following presentations and final open discussion between the different meeting attendees, the consortium decided to convene the next in-person Project Meeting in October 2024 in Milan, Italy, hosted by the Polytechnic University of Milan (POLIMI).