{"id":616074,"date":"2024-04-08T14:58:04","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T11:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/uk-startup-achieves-major-breakthrough-in-quest-for-space-based-solar-power\/"},"modified":"2024-04-08T14:58:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T11:58:04","slug":"uk-startup-achieves-major-breakthrough-in-quest-for-space-based-solar-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/uk-startup-achieves-major-breakthrough-in-quest-for-space-based-solar-power\/","title":{"rendered":"#UK startup achieves major breakthrough in quest for space-based solar power"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a41831cd953c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a41831cd953c\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/uk-startup-achieves-major-breakthrough-in-quest-for-space-based-solar-power\/#Solar_power_plants_in_space\" >Solar power plants in space<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n                            <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A UK startup has claimed a major breakthrough in its plans to beam solar energy from space to Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At a lab in Belfast, Oxford-based Space Solar managed to light up an LED sign by wirelessly beaming energy through the air, from all angles. This marks the world\u2019s first 360-degree wireless power transmission, said the startup.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis steerable power beaming capability is the heart of our solar power satellite design,\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Martin Soltau, founder at Space Solar, told TNW.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Space-based solar power involves capturing the Sun\u2019s energy in space, using satellites equipped with solar panels. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The power is then transmitted wirelessly in the form of microwaves to dedicated receiver stations on Earth, which convert the energy back into electricity. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper channel-cta\">\n<div class=\"ica-text\">\n<p class=\"ica-text__title\">TNW Conference 2024 &#8211; Calling all Scaleups to join on June 20-21<\/p>\n<p>Showcase your scaleup in front of investors, change-makers and potential customers with our curated Scaleup package.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Space Solar is designing a huge satellite system consisting of mirrors and solar panels. The solar farm will be located in geostationary orbit, some 35,000 km above the equator. Here it will follow the Earth\u2019s rotation, constantly facing the Sun in order to collect as much energy as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ability to transmit energy to Earth from all angles is key for space-based solar satellites to work. This is because they need to be capable of beaming energy to a fixed point on Earth while orbiting around it.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1405512 size-full js-lazy\" alt=\"harrier-space-solar\" width=\"1000\" height=\"562\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar-280x157.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar-796x447.jpg 796w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fsustainability%2F2024%2F04%2F08%2Fuk-startup-breakthrough-space-based-solar-energy%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: The HARRIER 360 degree power beaming technology demonstrator (left) beams invisible energy waves at the receiver (right) to light up the sign saying \u2018Space Solar\u2019. Credit: Space Solar\u00a0\" data-title=\"Share The HARRIER 360 degree power beaming technology demonstrator (left) beams invisible energy waves at the receiver (right) to light up the sign saying \u2018Space Solar\u2019. Credit: Space Solar\u00a0 on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share The HARRIER 360 degree power beaming technology demonstrator (left) beams invisible energy waves at the receiver (right) to light up the sign saying \u2018Space Solar\u2019. Credit: Space Solar\u00a0 on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>The HARRIER 360 degree power beaming <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> demonstrator (left) beams invisible energy waves at the receiver (right) to light up the sign saying \u2018Space Solar\u2019. Credit: Space Solar<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1405512 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar.jpg\" alt=\"harrier-space-solar\" width=\"1000\" height=\"562\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar-280x157.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/harrier-space-solar-796x447.jpg 796w\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis demonstration has validated our computer modelling which allows us to scale up the system with confidence, from half a metre to many hundreds of metres in diameter,\u201d said Soltau.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Solar_power_plants_in_space\"><\/span><b>Solar power plants in space<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Solar panels in space are capable of gathering far more energy than on Earth because, unhindered by the atmosphere, the intensity of sunlight is much greater. Space-based solar farms could also beam energy from space 24\/7, regardless of the weather on the ground.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Space Solar wants to install the first commercial solar farm in space within the next decade. The plant would be capable of delivering 180 megawatts to the grid \u2014 enough to power a large town.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the startup plans to launch its first prototype satellite in just three years time, followed by a larger version by the end of the 2020s. This demonstrator will be able to power a village of around 1000 homes, said Soltau.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Enabling_Support\/Space_Engineering_Technology\/SOLARIS\/Space-Based_Solar_Power_overview\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">European Space Agency<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (ESA), space-based solar power requires no new scientific or technological breakthroughs to work. Satellites transmitting TV signals from orbit are essentially beaming power to Earth \u2014 except at a far smaller scale.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be done with today\u2019s technology and unlike nuclear fusion, we don\u2019t need any breakthroughs in materials <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> or understanding of new physics,\u201d said Soltau.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In June last year, a group of <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/article\/satellite-beams-solar-power-down-earth-first-kind-demonstration\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">US scientists<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> managed to \u2014 for the first time ever \u2014 beam enough energy from space to be detectable by a receiver on Earth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, in order to capture enough energy to make them worthwhile, solar farms will have to be a kilometre or more across. The receiver station on the ground would need to cover an area ten times larger.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Space Solar believes the best location for these receivers would be offshore, perhaps in the vicinity of wind farms where there are existing grid connections. As for setting up the farm in space, an estimated <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/quest-to-power-homes-with-solar-panels-in-space-passes-a-critical-milestone-13107285\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">68 rocket launches<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would be required to carry all the components of the startup\u2019s power plant into orbit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, with the falling costs of launches thanks to companies like Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX, \u201cwe\u2019re able to do things in space that just weren\u2019t feasible even a decade ago,\u201d\u00a0 Soltau told <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/quest-to-power-homes-with-solar-panels-in-space-passes-a-critical-milestone-13107285\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sky News<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ESA, NASA, as well as several companies in the UK, US, China and Japan are all working to make space-based solar a reality. The <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2023%2F06%2F13%2Fbritain-electricity-supply-space-solar-power-bond%2F\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Department of Energy Security<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the UK Space Agency has provided grant funding for the development of Space Solar\u2019s first satellite.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once established, solar-beaming satellites of the scale planned across the world could generate around 2GW of round-the-clock electricity, enough to power more than one million homes. It would take more than six million solar panels on Earth\u2019s surface to generate the same amount, according to ESA. <\/span>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/uk-startup-breakthrough-space-based-solar-energy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A UK startup has claimed a major breakthrough in its plans to beam solar energy from space to Earth. At a lab in Belfast, Oxford-based Space Solar managed to light up an LED sign by wirelessly beaming energy through the air, from all angles. This marks the world\u2019s first 360-degree wireless power transmission, said the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":616075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280%2C640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2024%2F04%2Fspace-Solar-Power-Satellite.jpg&signature=189aaa5d339265d4c5990e3d9e1d99dc","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-616074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}