First experience of Felix Trombe 1946 (≈ 1946)
Demonstration in Meudon with a DCA mirror.
1949
Construction of the Mont-Louis oven
Construction of the Mont-Louis oven 1949 (≈ 1949)
First solar furnace operating in France.
1962-1968
Construction of Odeillo oven
Construction of Odeillo oven 1962-1968 (≈ 1965)
Directed by architect Henri Vicariot.
1969
Commissioning of the oven
Commissioning of the oven 1969 (≈ 1969)
Thermal power of 1 megawatt.
1973
Reorientation of post-oil shock research
Reorientation of post-oil shock research 1973 (≈ 1973)
Focus on solar-electric conversion.
1983
Launch of THEMIS
Launch of THEMIS 1983 (≈ 1983)
Experiment until 1986.
2009
Registration for historical monuments
Registration for historical monuments 2009 (≈ 2009)
Building and helicopter protection.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The solar furnace, i.e. the facades and roofs of the parable building and the oven building, as well as the heliostat field (VA 37, 43 to 45, 49): inscription by order of 14 May 2009
Key figures
Félix Trombe - Chemist and physicist
Initiator of solar furnaces in France.
Henri Vicariot - Architect
Manufacturer of the solar oven d 'Odeillo.
Claude Dupuy de Crescenzo - Researcher
Directed the Institute of Materials Science.
Origin and history
The solar furnace of Odeillo, commissioned in 1969, is an emblematic monument of French scientific research on solar energy. With its 63 heliostats and a heat output of one megawatt, it concentrates 10,000 times solar energy to reach temperatures above 3,300 °C. Designed by architect Henri Vicariot between 1962 and 1968, he was inspired by Mont-Louis (1949), a pioneer in this field. This laboratory, managed by the CNRS (PROMES laboratory), is dedicated to studying materials under extreme conditions and industrial applications of solar energy.
The idea of the solar furnace was born in 1946 with the chemist Felix Trombe, who showed Meudon the possibility of reaching high temperatures via the concentration of solar rays. The Odeillo site, chosen for its exceptional sunshine (more than 2,400 h/year) and altitude (1,535 m), becomes a global model. After the oil shock of 1973, research focused on the conversion of solar energy into electricity, leading to the creation of THEMIS in 1983. The oven was listed for historical monuments in 2009.
The solar furnace works thanks to two sets of mirrors: the heliostats, which can be oriented on the slope, return the rays to a parabolic concentrator, which focuses on a target. This system allows experiments in controlled atmospheres, without pollution, for aeronautical, space or industrial applications. The site also includes an information centre, Heliodyssée (closed since 2017), designed to raise public awareness of renewable energies.
Today, PROMES is working on a variety of projects: electricity generation with storage, solar fuel synthesis (dihydrogen, hydrocarbons), waste reprocessing (including radioactive), and materials development for aerospace. The Odeillo solar furnace remains a symbol of French innovation in clean energy and material research.
The solar furnace in Odeillo is inseparable from its scientific environment in Cerdagne, alongside the oven in Mont-Louis, the THEMIS power plant in Targasonne, and the thermodynamic solar power plant eLlo in Llo. These infrastructures illustrate the region's historic commitment to solar energy research, from the 1950s to the present.
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