Space Solar Startup Prepares Laser Power Transmission Demo for 2026

The idea of harvesting solar power in space and beaming it down to Earth — something that could be described as a “Starlink for electricity” — might sound ambitious, maybe even a bit utopian. But that hasn’t stopped Baiju Bhatt from betting on it.

Bhatt, the billionaire and co-founder of the financial app Robinhood, has launched Aetherflux, a startup entirely focused on transmitting solar energy from satellites to ground-based receivers. After announcing the project last year, he has already secured $50 million in Series A funding from Silicon Valley investors and aims to conduct a demonstration in 2026.

Global Race for Space-Based Solar Power

Other similar efforts have been gaining traction in recent years. In 2022, China built a 75-meter-tall ground verification facility to study how to receive wirelessly transmitted solar energy. In 2024, the country also revealed plans to construct a space-based solar power station measuring 1 kilometer wide.

The European Space Agency is exploring the concept as well, along with a UK startup in partnership with Iceland. In 2023, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) successfully demonstrated the transmission of a small amount of energy from a satellite to Earth using microwaves.

Aetherflux says it has already managed successful energy transmission in a lab environment. But the company is taking a different path: “We’re building a constellation of small satellites in Low Earth Orbit, working together to transmit power to many small ground stations. Instead of using microwaves, we’ll rely on infrared lasers, which allow for higher power output and smaller land-based receivers.”

In an interview with TechCrunch, Bhatt explained that the company is developing portable ground stations about 5 to 10 meters (16–32 feet) in diameter to deliver electricity to locations around the globe.

Powering Remote Areas and Military Missions

Aetherflux’s mission is to capture solar power and deliver it to remote islands, disaster-stricken regions, and active U.S. military operations abroad. The company puts particular emphasis on this last use case and has received approval for financial support from the U.S. Department of Defense through the Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF).

Despite growing interest, space solar remains a highly complex challenge. Our colleague David Szondy has previously gone into detail about how it works and why it’s so difficult.

Science YouTuber Sabine Hossenfelder is among those skeptical about the technology, citing major hurdles like satellites experiencing extreme temperature fluctuations when passing through Earth’s shadow and the need for ultra-precise synchronization of power beams from intricately assembled systems.

Even so, Aetherflux is moving forward. The company plans to use a satellite bus — the core system of a satellite that handles propulsion, communications, and other vital functions — provided by Los Angeles-based space tech firm Apex Space.

With a total of $60 million in funding and backing from the U.S. military, Aetherflux aims to launch its demo in Low Earth Orbit sometime in 2026.

Read the original article on: New Atlas

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