Space Solar study advances commercial space-based solar power

Space Solar has successfully completed CASSiDi, an 18-month, £1.7 million project designed to advance the design maturity of its revolutionary CASSIOPeiA satellite.

Space Solar has successfully completed CASSiDi, an 18-month, £1.7 million project designed to advance the design maturity of its revolutionary CASSIOPeiA satellite. The breakthrough project, led by Space Solar with a project team of 22 engineering organisations in support, heralds a paradigm shift in clean energy generation, and gives further confidence that space-based solar power (SBSP) can be deployed on a commercial scale from 2030.

Space-based solar power is important because it can deliver firm, uninterrupted clean power to nations 24/7 and in all weather, overcoming the intermittency challenges of traditional wind and solar. A solar panel in space delivers 13x the amount of energy that the same panel on Earth generates, because there is no night, no weather and no atmosphere in space. 

The power beam is low intensity and safe, and transmits through the atmosphere and weather with almost zero loss in efficiency.  It works exceptionally well in combination with other renewables, with the potential to contribute to grid resilience by delivering power where it’s needed most, cost competitive with terrestrial renewables.  

Furthermore it is very flexible, offering energy export wirelessly without expensive fixed interconnector cables. It will provide our energy security with lower energy bills for households and industry.  

CASSiDi represents a transformative milestone in the journey to global energy security. In a remarkably short timeframe, the project has advanced key aspects of the design, including the wireless power beaming, in-space assembly process and the ground receiver. It has confirmed that the solar power satellite mass targets are achievable, a key driver of the capital cost and the low Levelised Cost of Electricity.  It establishes a very strong foundation for the next stages of development and demonstration.   

At the heart of this innovation is the CASSIOPeiA satellite design, uniquely capable of efficiently capturing and continuously transmitting solar power from space to Earth with a solid state design.  CASSIOPeiA uses reflectors and a helical array to continuously collect solar energy and beam it to ground-based receivers via high-frequency radio waves, steering the energy beam electronically through 360°. This allows for constant, weather-independent power delivery, making it an essential source of reliable energy to complement existing renewable sources. It has a market-leading power to mass ratio, leading to its excellent economics.   

Funded by the UK Space Agency and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero as Phase 2 of the Space Based Solar Power Innovation Programme, the study has successfully achieved the project objectives.  A coherent, integrated design has been developed, with the sub-system modules defined together with the approach to their in-space assembly.  The work has addressed key risk factors, including power conversion efficiency, launch logistics, cost-effectiveness.  A detailed Life Cycle Analysis study confirms that the design is a true low carbon technology with a projected carbon footprint comparable to, or potentially lower than existing renewable energy sources. The results are testament to the important role that SBSP can play in the transition away from hydrocarbons, and that CASSIOPeiA remains the market leading - and now most technically mature design - anywhere in the world.

Head of Research & Development at UK Space Agency, Dr Mamatha Maheshwarappa commented, "We developed and funded this innovation programme alongside the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, as we want to gain the best possible understanding of the economic viability, mission architecture and associated technologies for space-based solar power. “This successful study has raised the maturity level of the underpinning technologies necessary to deploy on a commercial scale, including in-orbit manufacturing and servicing, as well as the assembly of large structures in space. This work will also have great potential to benefit wider space markets and technologies."

Martin Soltau, Co-CEO at Space Solar, commented: “In just 18 months and £1.7 million of engineering work, CASSiDi has accelerated space-based solar power to a new level of maturity, confirming its potential to become a commercially viable clean energy source within the next few years.   We now have the most advanced and capable SBSP design in the world—and a clear, achievable roadmap to commercial reality. This is a game-changer for clean energy.”

Space Solar is now accelerating towards deployment, with plans to deliver a megawatt-scale commercial system within five years and expand to a full product range from 30 MW to GigaWatt-scale within twelve years. This roadmap positions SBSP as a cornerstone of the clean energy transition, offering a reliable, scalable, and cost-effective solution to meet the growing global energy demand while drastically reducing carbon emissions.

By harnessing limitless solar energy from space, Space Solar is set to redefine the future of renewable power - providing the world with a consistent, sustainable, and commercially viable alternative to fossil fuels.