UK looks to space-based power
The UK government has announced the winners of a call to develop systems for beaming power from space.
The £4.3m (€5m) funding will go to a mix of eight universities, accelerators and companies to develop underlying technologies and modelling tools rather than systems. Caltech in the US demonstrated power beamed down from a satellite it launched earlier in the year.
Cambridge University will develop ultra-lightweight solar panels while Queen Mary University in London is working on the wireless system to transfer the power to earth while the Satellite Applications Catapult will develop the beam steering technology.
The funding comes from the Space Based Solar Power Innovation Competition announced in September last year and was announced at the UK Tech Week today.
The University of Cambridge is receiving over £770,000 to develop ultra-lightweight solar panels that can survive long periods in high-radiation environments like the conditions in space. This will help increase the lifetime of these satellites, improve energy yields and lower the cost per unit of energy
Queen Mary University in London will receive over £960,000 to develop a wireless power transmission system with high efficiency over a long range, to support the technology to beam solar power from the satellites back to Earth
MicroLink Devices UK in Port Talbot, South Wales, has been awarded over £449,000 to develop the next generation of lightweight, flexible solar panels, which could be used for solar satellites
The University of Bristol is receiving over £353,000 to produce a simulation of solar space wireless power transfer capability to explore the possibilities of this technology, and provide further evidence on the performance, safety, and reliability of space based solar
Satellite Applications Catapult in Didcot has been awarded over £999,000 for an experiment to test the electronical steering and beam quality of its space satellite antenna technology. The company are receiving over £424,000 for another project to study how to advance commercial space-based solar power that can provide a reliable source of electricity for the UK
Imperial College London is receiving over £295,000 for a study to assess the key benefits and impacts of space solar, including how solar energy from space could be integrated into the electricity grid alongside other low-carbon energy sources
EDF Energy R&D UK Centre Ltd will receive over £25,000 for a study to improve knowledge of the value of introducing space based solar power into the UK’s grid
“Space technology and solar energy have a long history – the need to power satellites was a key driver in increasing the efficiency of solar panels which generate electricity for homes and businesses today,” said Dr Mamatha Maheshwarappa, Payload Systems Lead at the UK Space Agency. “There is significant potential for the space and energy sectors to work together to support the development of space-based solar power, and the UK Space Agency has contributed £1 million to these innovative projects to help take this revolutionary concept to the next level.”
Space Based Solar Power Innovation Competition
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
