Olds Elevator has been selected to serve as the Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) conveyor for Pilot Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Plant to be constructed in 2013.  The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. CSP involves the use of heliostats (concave mirrors) that focus the sun's rays on a small area.  The focused beam of sunlight is intensely hot, exceeding 1,000ºF.  An Olds elevator will deliver the sand, which will serve as the HTF, to be heated by the focused sunbeam.  The sand will be heated to over 1,000ºF and be used to provide the heat to generate steam to run a turbine to produce electricity. 

An advantage of CSP over conventional Photovoltaic solar power is that with CSP enough sand can be heated during the daytime that a portion can be stored to use at night to generate electricity after the sun has set.  Solar energy at night.

The Olds elevator will be made to withstand sand temperatures up to 1,100ºF.  It will have its rotating casing insulated to retain the heat of the sand during elevation.  The first unit will be 40 feet tall and will deliver sand at a rate up to 16,000 lbs/hour.  

Additional CSP projects are planned with various materials serving as the HTF.

Olds elevators have only one (1) moving part in contact with the material being conveyed.  They also can be used as precision volumetric flow meters when controlled with a Variable Frequency Drive as the output of the Olds is directly proportional to the speed of its rotating casing.