It was built in 1970 at Odeillo in The Pyrenees. It’s a mountain range that forms a natural border between France and Spain. These Mountains were chosen as the best possible site, due to the weather in the area being sunny as much as 300 days a year. Solar furnaces are used to harness the rays of the sun in order to produce extremely high temperatures. This is used to power a furnace producing steel from iron ore.

The thousands of mirrors combine to produce temperatures up to 3,000 °C (5,430 °F). 1,420 flat mirrors automatically track the sun and concentrate the light on a parabolic reflector. The reflector then concentrates the rays to produce 1000 kw energy. The furnace has applications in scientific research, can fire ceramics, and could even generate hydrogen. Over fifty years old, it is back online and attracts 30,000 visitors annually.