Idemitsu develops CIGS solar modules for satellites

Idemitsu Kosan, a Japanese manufacturer of oil and chemicals, and Source Energy Company, a US-based manufacturer of components for aerospace solar energy systems, have announced collaboration plans to develop copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) solar PV arrays for satellite and space applications.

The next step in the partnership will be a “rigorous development and testing campaign” at Source Energy Company’s Colorado facility in preparation for implementation, a statement said.

Idemitsu said its proprietary thin-film CIGS solar cell technology for the space market has high radiation resistance, a lightweight profile and sustained high performance that could potentially “reduce the need for oversized arrays, resulting in significant mass and cost savings for customers.”

Idemitsu became the largest shareholder of Japanese copper-indium-selenium (CIS) module manufacturer Solar Frontier in 2019.

Source Energy said adding CIGS products to its existing portfolio of space-grade silicon solar products will help the company better serve its flight customers and meet the “growing demand for reliable solar panels,” primarily for high low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO) missions.

Idemitsu Kosan noted in the statement that it is leveraging its experience in developing advanced CIGS-based solar cell technology intended for space applications.

In October, it announced two separate launches of CIGS space projects in Japanese. Specifically, it said it had participated in the Space Solar Cell Demonstration System (SDX) on board the new HTV-X1 unmanned cargo vehicle launched by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and that the technology was on board Botan, a small satellite developed by the Chiba Institute of Technology.

Source Energy Company was founded in 2021 as a developer and manufacturer of reliable and scalable solar energy modules and array solutions for satellites and spacecraft.

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