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Solar cell innovators figured out how to harvest solar energy in space and deploy it on satellites and space stations many years ago. Transferring all those clean kilowatts from space down to earth is a challenge of another order. Still, the new solar technologies of today can lay the groundwork for space-to-Earth transmission by cutting the cost of materials and deployment. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the US startup Solestial.
Solestial Is Prepping For A Space Solar Revolution, Self-Repairing Edition
Solestial cropped up on the CleanTechnica radar almost exactly 12 months ago, when the company earned a NASA contract of almost $850,000 for a project called “Next Generation Silicon Based Solar Arrays for Space Stations and Other Permanent Space Infrastructure.” The contract followed previous awards from NASA and the US Air Force, too.
The company, a spinoff from Arizona State University, is known for specializing in extremely thin silicon solar cells under its previous name, Regher Solar. The thin profile of the solar cells suggests fragility, but Solestial has demonstrated that its technology has the opposite effect, enabling the solar cell to avoid damage from high-energy protons in space.
“These harmful particles are a big problem for satellites in space, particularly in a region of space known as the Van Allen belts, which trap radiation from solar wind and other cosmic rays,” Arizona State University explains.
The company’s co-founder, Stanislau Herasimenka, emphasizes that its solar cells can repair themselves. “[In] a thin cell, electrons generated by light don’t have to travel as far to be extracted and even if space radiation creates a defect in a solar cell, electrons will have much less chance to recombine through this defect, thus increasing end-of-life efficiency of a solar cell,” Herasimenka told the Arizona Technology Council, in an interview published before Regher rebranded to Solestial in 2022.
If you caught that thing about “Space Stations and Other Permanent Space Infrastructure” in the title of Solesital’s NASA contract, that indicates beaming space solar down to Earth is not in the cards for Soelesital — yet. However, a hint was dropped last year when Solestial hooked up with another US firm, Opterus R&D, with the aim of deploying its flexible thin film technology in a new “rollout” system.
A rollout system is a relatively lightweight, inexpensive means of unfurling massive solar arrays in outer space. Combined with the falling cost of rocket launches and a drop in the cost of solar technology, cost-efficient rollout systems are another stepping stone to space solar arrays that connect with users on Earth (see lots more space solar background here).
Next Steps For Space Solar
So, how close is Solestial to solving the space solar challenge? Even if they don’t end up beaming space solar down to Earth anytime soon, the market for space solar in space is ripening fast. Satellites are popping up like mushrooms after a rain, loaded with 21st-century technology that demands more energy than satellites of the past. In addition, a new space station is in the works to replace the existing ISS, scheduled for de-orbit around 2030. Various nations are racing to stake out turf on the Moon as well.
With that in mind, last August, Solestial inked a deal with the world-leading solar cell innovator and manufacturer Meyer Burger Technology, which recently opened a facility in Solestial’s home state of Arizona. As described by Solestial, the strategic partnership will “revolutionize space solar power by enabling Solestial to deliver ultra-thin, reliable, radiation-hardened cells and modules at unprecedented scale.”
“By combining Meyer Burger’s advanced silicon heterojunction technology with proprietary defect engineering and metallization processes Solestial’s solar cells offer the efficiency, and reliability required to meet the stringent demands of in orbit operations,” Solestial elaborates, noting that the automated production process cuts the cost of producing its solar technology by 90% compared to III-V solar cells.
Scaling Space Solar Up: The Difficulty Factor
For those of you new to the topic, III-V solar cells are fabricated with elements from columns III and V of the Periodic Table of Elements. They are far more expensive than silicon solar cells. However, for niche purposes in which cost is no object, III-V technology can provide for superior solar conversion efficiency, which explains their use in military applications as well as outer space.
Solestial aims to blow that up by offering an alternative product at a competitive price, helped along by the new scaleup-focused partnership with Meyer Burger. Solestial aims to ramp up its operations to more than 1 megawatt per year by the middle of 2025, with the assist from Meyer Burger.
The 1-megawatt figure is significant because, according to Solestial, it is comparable to the entire global capacity of III-V solar manufacturing today.
Next Steps For Solestial
Also under the category of cutting costs, on October 31 Solestial announced a new partnership with the manufacturing software firm Manufacturo.
“Solestial is developing radiation-hardened silicon solar technology engineered for the unique challenges of space, offering long-lasting, efficient, and low mass solutions to power satellites, near-Earth infrastructure, space-based solar power, and more,” Solestial said of itself.
If you have some thoughts about the applications that could fall under the “and more” category, drop a note in the comment thread.
Meanwhile, Solestial expects the partnership with Manufacturo to pump up the efficiency of its production process. “Manufacturo can quickly adapt to higher production volumes while ensuring cost-effective and streamlined processes,” Solestial notes. The firm specializes in scheduling, materials management, and resource allocation under tight deadlines.
Quality control is another key feature of the new relationship. “With active controls, explicit traceability, and high integrated visibility of quality workflows, the software solution ensures that every solar power module Solestial produces meets the rigorous standards required for space applications,”Solestial explains.
“This collaborative partnership will help us meet the growing demand for our technology while maintaining the highest standards of quality and efficiency as we look toward the future of space energy,” emphasizes Diana Aponte, the company’s Head of Product.
As for progress on space-to-Earth transmission, keep an eye on SSPIDR (Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research Project), a project of the US Air Force Research Laboratory in cooperation with Northrup Grumman and other partners. Building on work pioneered by research teams at CalTech, SSPIDR demonstrated space-to-Earth transmission for the first time last year. The US Space Force has also gotten into the act, so stay tuned for more on that.
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Image (cropped): The US startup Solestial is banking on cost-cutting, ultra-thin, self-reparing silicon solar technology for an edge in the red hot space solar race (courtesy of Solestial).
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