Manuel António Gomes, best known as Padre Himalaya, a Portuguese priest and also scientist and inventor, has been one of the pioneers in the investigation of solar energy. He read in january 1988 an article about experiences on solar energy made by Augustin Mouchot, a French scientist. He got quite impressed, and some years later, in 1990, Padre Himalaya invented a 7 meters diameter solar concentrator. Around August 15, the temperature of 1500 C is reached for the first time, enabling iron smelting. His main objective was to produce nitrogen fertilizers for agriculture as it had been an issue for the industry for quite a long time. During the second half of the 19th century, the need for an agro-industry was growing. The nitrogen from Chile was a well known fertilizer and was an enormous wealth that the British, the Americans and the Germans were fighting for. Later, Padre Himalaya’s biggest achievement will be the Pirelióforo, a device in which thousands of mirrors over a surface of 80 square meters concentrate solar energy, producing heat up to 4000 C, enough to melt most metals and stones. The huge installment will be a star in the 1904 Universal Exhibition in St. Louis, where it will win two gold medals. Nowadays, Padre Himalaya’s first concentrator is beeing rebuilt alike by the association “Les amis du Padre Himalaya”.
