ESA is laying the groundwork for the development of satellite technology designed to harvest the...
ESA is laying the groundwork for the development of satellite technology designed to harvest the Sun's energy in space before transmitting it wirelessly to receiving stations on Earth.
Through SOLARIS, ESA is bringing together policymakers, energy suppliers and space companies to investigate the feasibility of developing and implementing space-based solar power.
Given the uninterrupted nature and scalable potential of space-based solar power, the technology could offer a solution to these current and future energy challenges.
In 2023 a SOLARIS study led by Thales Alania Space Italy, with contributions from renewable energy company ENEL, began to draw up an early definition of a space-based solar power system that uses radio waves to deliver a reliable 24/7 supply of energy to the ground.
"Sanjay, who will present SOLARIS this week at the International Conference on Energy from Space in London, explains,"The physics behind this design is already implemented in telecommunications, where satellites beam small amounts of energy in the form of radio-frequency waves from orbit to a receiving ground station.
A further SOLARIS study - led by consultancy Arthur D Little in collaboration with energy supplier ENGIE - is investigating a secondary concept that could serve as a forerunner to radio-frequency solar power satellites.
This type of system uses large mirrors deployed in space to reflect sunlight down through the atmosphere to existing terrestrial solar farms, boosting their yields and enabling them to continue producing energy even at times when natural light levels are low.
ESA, with dedicated funding from the UK Space Agency, recently invited British companies to develop robotics systems that could be used for the assembly, maintenance or operation of solar farms in space.
A further aim of SOLARIS is to bring together the space industry, energy companies, and governments to explore the enormous potential of solar power satellite technology in their collective push towards decarbonising society in the next decades.
This effort will be on show this week at the International Conference on Energy from Space, which is set to welcome key figures from the UK government and the energy industry to discuss SOLARIS and other related activities in the UK, Europe and beyond.