China’s ultra-hot heat pump breakthrough paves way for melting ore with sunlight

For over a century, the dream of efficiently concentrating low-grade heat into high-temperature industrial energy has been constrained by a stubborn ceiling: 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit). Now, a team from China has shattered that temperature limit. Using a revolutionary heat pump with no moving parts, they achieved an output of 270 degrees with a 145-degree heat source to drive the cycle. Developed by a team led by Luo Ercang at the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of...