Coventry, JosephPye, JohnAndraka, CharlesBlanco, MFisher, JamesZ., Wang2022-08-05September9781510805941http://hdl.handle.net/1885/270229This paper analyses the potential of sodium receivers to increase the overall solar-to-electricity efficiency of solar power towers. It re-visits some of the key outcomes and conclusions from past sodium receiver experiments, in particular those at Sandia National Laboratories and Plataforma Solar de Almeria in the 1980s, and discusses some new development activities in the area. It also discusses research in sodium receivers with a liquid-vapour phase change (heat pipes and pool boilers), to explore whether technologies developed for dish-Stirling systems have applicability for solar tower systems. Exergy analysis is used to compare the performance of sodium and molten salt receivers, and examine the impact of increasing solar flux on a sodium receiver.Many of the findings presented in this paper draws on research performed as part of the Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative (ASTRI), a project supported by the Australian Government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Responsibility for the views, information or advice expressed herein is not accepted by the Australian Government. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.application/pdfen-AU© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.20152021-08-01