Airbus Ventures announces its newest lead investment in Solestial, Inc. (“Solestial”), the space solar energy company. The round has been joined by AEI HorizonX, GPVC, Stellar Ventures, Industrious Ventures and others. This new funding will be used to increase production and customer engagement capabilities as the company expands ground and flight testing in parallel; additional investments in R&D and go-to-market functions are also planned.
Solestial’s solar panels can be produced on a large scale using automated production methods at 90% less cost than the solar panels widely used by the satellite industry. This best-in-class, space-optimized silicon photovoltaic technology also provides orbital reliability of at least 10 years in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Cost-effective solar panels with scalable manufacturing capacity are essential to meet demand from the satellite industry, which is expected to grow from 5,000 operational satellites to 100,000 or more by 2030, a CAGR of 40%.
“We are on a mission to become the solar energy company for space, and this capital will help us dramatically accelerate the delivery of our breakthrough technology at scale,” said Stanislau Herasimenka, co-founder and CEO of Solestial. “We deeply and humbly appreciate each investor’s vote of confidence in this extremely strong syndicate led by Airbus Ventures, and we couldn’t be more excited to roll up our sleeves and get to work on this important next phase. .”
Solestial’s technology has been in development for more than a decade, beginning life at Arizona State University where the company was first conceived as Regher Solar. The company’s high-efficiency silicon solar cells are ultra-thin and lightweight, self-hardening by radiation at normal operating temperatures of 80+ C or lower, with no additional hardware requirements. This breakthrough self-curing capability, unmatched in the industry, allows Solestial cells to achieve minimal degradation over decades of life in space. The new approach to radiation hardening also enables innovative proprietary packaging technology, resulting in a thin, lightweight panel optimized for long LEO missions.
Solestial’s technological breakthroughs and superior value proposition are generating tremendous commercial demand. In the past year alone, the company has signed Letters of Intent (LOIs) totaling hundreds of millions of dollars with a variety of commercial clients, ranging from startups to major defense majors. This new commercial demand builds on a base of more than $2.5 million in SBIR contracts with NASA, NSF and other government agencies.
“We are at a new inflection point for the aerospace and energy sectors,” said Mat Costes, partner at Airbus Ventures. “We are thrilled to welcome the Solestial team to our vibrant community of entrepreneurs working to advance cutting-edge technologies to help solve near-term, critical planetary challenges. From the start of our due diligence process, we were immediately impressed with Solestial’s solar cell technology, and we’re proud to lead this impressive union on a mission to deliver advanced, lightweight and cost-effective solutions that power the new space economy,” said Costs.
Herasimenka added, “Looking forward, Solestial is uniquely positioned to enable a sustainable and highly efficient infrastructure for Earth orbit, cislunar space and operations on the Moon itself, helping to release energy and the resources of our entire planetary system for the benefit of life on Earth.”
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UK to cap revenues for renewable energy companies
London (AFP) October 12, 2022
Britain is to introduce a cap on revenues for companies that produce low-carbon electricity to mitigate the impact of soaring energy prices on consumers. The temporary cap on energy companies that generate electricity from renewable and nuclear energy is being introduced in England and Wales, the government announced in a statement on Tuesday. The measure “will reduce the impact of unprecedented wholesale prices on consumers and the taxpayer by introducing a revenue limit, limiting amou… Read more