The US-based manufacturer of Silicon Solar PV technologies for space has announced a project that requires 1 kW of solar cells and modules in a new sun wing in a time period of four weeks in a new sun wing produces, collects and integrates.
SolestialA lightweight manufacturer, radiation-hardened silicon PV products for space has received $ 1.2 million to finance the development of a new solar panel concept for small satellites with potential for multiple track use.
The project includes the construction and testing of a complete sun wing, the further development of Solestial’s silicon cell and module technology for fast integration and assembly, and the development of new electric interconnectors module, according to the company.
“The project will culminate in a two-week production sprint to produce 1 kilowatt solar cells and modules, followed by a two-week solar salation disease and integration that is carried out with the aim of prove that a complete solar array wing can be manufactured in just one month,” Solestial said in an explanation.
The financing is provided by Spacewerx, a technology accelerator of the US Space Forceand a unique division within the US Department of the Air Force (DAF) Afwerx Innovation initiative.
Solestial offers Ultrathin and lightweight solar panels and arraysRigid or flexible, along with its second generation 20%-efficient silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells, manufactured using its own defective engineering. It claims that its PV technology can make radiation damage himself, glowing over a wide range of operating temperatures under sunlight.
The company sees its business and technical goals as tailored to the project and those of its financing partners. “Long lead times for production have plagued the established solar technology for space. Thanks to our use of affordable, accessible silicon and automated production of solar cells and solar energy modules, Solestial is unique to solve this critical bottleneck and to support mission,” Margo de Naray, Solestial, said Solestial, Solestial, Solestial, Solestial, Solestial, Solestial, said.
Solestial has a 2,787 m2 special solar cell and module production facility in Tempe, Arizona, which has been automating and expanding it since 2023 to lower costs and deliver shorter lead times.
To finance the scaling of production, the company recently collected a series A round of $ 17 million that it said will be used to reach Silicon PV capacity of 1 Megawatt per year.
The new capital was provided by a consortium of institutional and business investors, including the Mitsubishi Electric CorporationBacked Me Innovation Fund, which is managed by Global Brain Corporation, and Airbus Ventures, the Airbus Corporate Venture Fund, together with specialized industrial and early stage risk capital investors.
Solestial, founded in 2013, has signed intention letters with commercial customers, ranging from startups to major defense contractors and it has been crowned More than $ 7 million in US Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts from various US space, science and air force research organizations.
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