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The idea seems strange at first glance, but the race to launch an orbiting solar power plant into space is heating up, with the United States and Great Britain also competing. In the latest news, a UK startup with the ambitious name Space Solar expects a demonstration model of their device to be in orbit within the next three years, delivering solar energy to a receiver on Earth 24/7, regardless of the weather. If you think similar technology could be applied to the remote charging of EVs, read on.
Actually, Space Solar is not Kooky
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CleanTechnica caught up on the latest US space solar news in January, when we noted that space solar power is nothing new. After all, the expensive orbital solar arrays of the 1950s paved the way for today’s low-cost ground-based solar innovations.
As for why the space-to-Earth connection has taken so long, we also noted obstacles including “scale, cost, the delicate maneuvering required to deploy a solar array in space, and the ability of solar cells to withstand the harsh environment.” The space environment, including solar flares and geomagnetic activity.
“NASA also notes that space solar arrays will have to maintain a geostationary orbit, meaning they will be farther away than conventional satellites.”
Space solar research continues apace at the California Institute of Technology, which is making good use of a $100 million grant the school received from philanthropists Donald and Brigitte Breen. In January, a CalTech research team completed space testing of three key technologies, including 32 different types of solar cell arrays.
While NASA has taken a wait-and-see approach to space solar, other federal agencies, including the US Naval Research Laboratory and possibly the US Space Force, are contributing (capture) to the cause, along with Grumman and other private sector partners. on CleanTechnica’s cosmic solar coverage here).
UK Startup Takes Ambitious Space Solar Target
Space solar activity is also buzzing in the UK. The latest news comes from Oxfordshire startup Space Solar, which announced a conceptual breakthrough in February. The company’s CEO, Sam Adlen, also confirmed that the goal is to send a technology demonstration into orbit within the next three years to deliver a “meaningful” level of power from space to Earth in 2030.
“Space Solar, the UK’s leading space solar energy (SBSP) company, today announces the results of a detailed engineering design and analysis that validates the performance characteristics of the CASSIOPeiA Solar Energy Satellite concept,” the company said about itself. February 7 press release.
Space Solar significantly differentiates its technology from other iterations, particularly in terms of its all-important financial profile, as well as its ability to deliver clean kilowatts on an uninterrupted, 24/7 basis. They list structure, thermal management, attitude and orbit control, photovoltaics, and light path as key design features that help achieve performance and mass targets.
“Preliminary findings from the company’s HARRIER wireless power transfer demonstrator also fed into the research and helped optimize the design,” the company said.
Baby steps for a Cosmic Sun…
Last week, the Belfast Telegraph was among those who reported that Space Solar had successfully tested a prototype of its CASSIOPeiA technology at Queen’s University in Belfast.
“Tests in Belfast have now shown the system works for the first time, with a wireless beam successfully ‘guided’ to turn on a light in a laboratory,” the Telegraph reported.
Telegraph reporter Liam Tunney also noted the number of rocket launches required to assemble a full-scale, one-mile-wide solar array in orbit — about 68.
If that sounds expensive, it is. However, the cost of launching rockets has been falling rapidly in recent years and is expected to decline further.
…Do you think what we think?
The choice of Queen’s University for a high-profile test of the technology was no accident. Queen’s University researchers are investigating space solar energy efforts as part of the school’s Wireless Power Transfer for Space-Based Solar Energy program.
“Queen’s researchers have produced two major innovations for the BVLOS (Beyond Line of Sight) WPT: near/far field auto-focusing antenna array technology and orientation agnostic rectifier antenna (rectenna) systems,” Queen’s reports, referring to control systems. controlling drones even when out of line of sight.
“This know-how can be applied to deliver power to satellites in remote constellations and HAPS. [high altitude platform stations]from space-based solar farms to electric vehicles on Earth or in space settlements,” the school said.
Wait, they said electric cars in space settlements? Yes, they did.
If space solar can be applied to electric vehicles on Earth, it could lead to EVs with minimal requirements for on-board batteries, reducing the environmental impacts of mining, manufacturing and other life-cycle issues associated with EV batteries.
This is of course purely speculative. However, Queen’s University was the lead research organization for a 2019 UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) grant aimed at developing a long-range, high-power wireless system for use on Earth.
At the time, the researchers noted that most work on wireless systems focused on medium-power microwave transmission, suitable for sensors and other low-power applications.
The high power angle could lead to “disruptive” applications, including in smartphones and even electric vehicles, the team noted.
“Higher power WPT can be realized using low frequency inductive coupling techniques, although the range is very short (<20 cm). Therefore, we see microwave WPT as the only way to break the longer distance and higher power barrier,” they explained.
As originally planned, the program will culminate in two major demonstrations, one involving laboratory measurements and the other an actual long-duration VOTL (vertical takeoff and landing) unmanned flight.
Next steps for the Space Sun
The grant period closed last September without further press announcements from the school. CleanTechnica is reaching out to see if a summary is available, and we’ll be sure to ask if drone technology can be transferred to ground transportation.
Meanwhile, researchers at another UK institution, Queen Mary University of London, have received a £960,000 grant to investigate the use of a new phased array transmitter for wireless power transfer in space solar applications.
“A phased array is a system of multiple antennas working together that allows the beam to be directed and focused to any desired point,” explains Queen Mary University.
“The team will also demonstrate high Radio Frequency (RF) to DC conversion efficiency in an offset-fed reflector-based rectenna, which plays an important role in capturing and converting transmitted energy,” the school adds. electromagnetic waves electricity into a DC electric current.
The team plans to build a small-scale demonstration device to prove the concept, so stay tuned for more on that.
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Image (cropped): “A view from MAPLE, which will demonstrate wireless power transmission in space. This angle shows both the array of flexible, lightweight microwave power transmitters (right side) and the two receivers to which they will transmit power (left side). The upper receiver is thus powered, and it is illuminated by this wirelessly transmitted energy” courtesy of CalTech.
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