UK govt awards GBP 4.3m to advance space-based solar power

The UK government is investing GBP 4.3 million (USD 5.4m/EUR 5m) to enable the domestic space-based solar power industry to take off.

Space-based solar power, a technology in its early stages of development, refers to the collecting of solar energy via modules mounted on satellites and the beaming of this energy back to Earth.

The UK government funding will be awarded to eight projects by UK universities and technology companies. For instance, the University of Cambridge will develop ultra-lightweight solar panels that can operate in high-radiation environments, while Queen Mary University in London will develop a wireless power transmission system that could beam solar power from the satellites back to Earth.

“I want the UK to boldly go where no country has gone before - boosting our energy security by getting our power directly from space,” Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps said in a statement. He will announce the awards in a speech at London Tech Week today.

The UK government noted that only several counties are working on space-based solar power. The California Institute of Technology this month for the first time demonstrated solar power transmission to Earth from space.

According to a UK government-commissioned study in 2021, space-based solar power could produce up to 10 GW of electricity a year by 2050.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.256/EUR 1.167)

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