Space-based solar power collects energy from the sun in outer space and then distributes it back to Earth via satellites, with the technologies required to facilitate this transferal rapidly emerging.

A total of eight projects have been selected to receive the funding — of which £3.3M comes from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and £1M from the UK Space Energy — to help drive innovation in this area.

For instance, the University of Cambridge is receiving £770,000 to develop ultra-lightweight solar panels that can endure high-radiation environments for a prolonged period, helping to increase satellite longevity and improve energy yields.

A second university, Queen Mary University in London, is receiving over £960,000 to develop a wireless power transmission system with high efficiency over a long range, to support the technology to direct solar power from the satellites back to Earth.

The government has stated that technologies such as these have a “huge” potential to boost the UK’s energy security, reduce dependency on fossil fuels, and drive down household bills, seeing as the sun is visible for over 99% of the time.

Further, according to a study commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in 2021, space-based solar power could generate up to 10 gigawatts of electricity a year by 2050, equating to a quarter of the UK’s power needs.

The study also suggested that the technology could create a multi-billion pound industry, creating 143,000 new jobs across the UK in the process.

Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, is set to discuss the funding and the projects later today at London Tech Week.

On the funding announcement, Shapps has already said: “I want the UK to boldly go where no country has gone before – boosting our energy security by getting our power directly from space.

“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 the way we power our nation and provide cheaper, cleaner and more secure energy for generations to come.”

Dr Mamatha Maheshwarappa, Payload Systems Lead at the UK Space Agency, also commented, saying: “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.

“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.”

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The announcement of the UK Government’s funding into space-based solar power projects comes at a particularly exciting time for the sector.

Earlier this month, scientists at Caltech — the California Institute of Technology — claimed to have distributed solar power from space back to Earth for the first time.

According to Caltech, its space solar power prototype — called MAPLE, an acronym for Microwave Array for Power-transfer Low-orbit Experiment — was launched into orbit in January this year, and has been suggested to be operational.

“Through the experiments we have run so far, we received confirmation that MAPLE can transmit power successfully to receivers in space,” said Ali Hajimiri, who leads the team that developed MAPLE.

“We have also been able to program the array to direct its energy toward Earth, which we detected here at Caltech. We had, of course, tested it on Earth, but now we know that it can survive the trip to space and operate there.”

Further, Hajimiri added, “To the best of our knowledge, no one has ever demonstrated wireless energy transfer in space even with expensive rigid structures. We are doing it with flexible lightweight structures and with our own integrated circuits. This is a first.”