- Minister says technology to collect energy and beam it to Earth could help boost UK’s energy security.
- Imperial College London and EDF Energy will also receive funding for studies to assess how electricity from space-based power stations could be integrated into the electricity grid alongside other low-carbon energy sources.
UK universities and tech companies will receive £4.3m in government funding to develop space-based solar power. Grant Shapps said, The technology, which collects energy from the sun using satellite-mounted panels and beams it to Earth, had tremendous potential to boost the UK’s energy security, the UK’s energy security secretary.
Although building commercial power stations in space may sound far-fetched, the space industry has long been at the forefront of solar power development. Indeed, the need to power satellites was a key driver in increasing the efficiency of solar panels that generate electricity for homes and businesses, said Dr Mamatha Maheshwarappa, the payload systems lead at the UK Space Agency.
Among the recipients of the funding from the government’s space-based solar power innovation competition are Cambridge University, which is developing ultra-lightweight solar panels that can withstand the high radiation levels encountered in space, and the Queen Mary University of London, which is developing a wireless system to allow space-harvested solar power to be safely beamed to Earth.
This month, scientists at the California Institute of Technology in the US claimed to have successfully transmitted solar power to Earth from space for the first time, using a prototype spacecraft called Maple that was launched into orbit in January.
Shapps announced the funding at London Tech Week: “We’re taking a giant leap by backing the development of this exciting technology and putting the UK at the forefront of this rapidly emerging industry as it prepares for launch. By winning this new space race, we can transform how we power our nation and provide cheaper, cleaner, and more secure energy for future generations.”
Imperial College London and EDF Energy will also receive funding for studies to assess how electricity from space-based power stations could be integrated into the electricity grid alongside other low-carbon energy sources.