Beam me down, Scotty

In a live demonstration in front of the European Space Agency and Airbus, New Zealand-based startup Emrod recently showed off new tech that can be used to beam down solar energy from space.

☀️🛰️ Background: The idea of space-based solar power isn’t new. The first patent for such a satellite was filed in 1973, and the idea showed up even earlier in Isaac Asimov’s 1941 short story Reason.

The potential advantages are simple: a higher collection of the Sun’s energy due to no atmosphere, as well the potential for 24-hour solar power. But just like running the 400-meter hurdle, there are still some… obstacles to overcome.

• To beam several gigawatts of solar energy from a geostationary orbit around Earth (aka enough to power 1-2 million homes), you’d need a transmitter measuring roughly 1.2 miles in diameter – both on Earth and in space.
• For context, the largest single structure ever built in space, the International Space Station, measures 361 feet by 243 feet. And even that took 10 years and 30+ space launches to assemble.

⏩ Which brings us to two weeks ago… when Emrod successfully demonstrated its near-field energy beams, which the company says are much more efficient than other existing technology. The result? It unlocks the ability to deploy smaller transmitters (~6 feet in diameter).

• The startup plans to set up a network of hundreds – or even thousands – of these antennas in orbit.

🌎 Zoom out: A handful of other countries’ governments or militaries are currently exploring the feasibility of space-based solar power stations, including those from the US, UK, China, and Australia.