Space photovoltaic panels manufacturer Solestial elevates USD 10m in fresh funds

• United States space solar panels developer Solestial Inc has closed an oversubscribed USD-10-million (EUR 10.2 m) seed round led by the venture capital arm of European aircraft maker Airbus (EPA: AIR).

The fresh capital brought in will be made use of to increase manufacturing and consumer interaction capabilities, as the firm increases ground and also trip testing, as well as for investments in research and development and also go-to-market efforts, the startup said in a declaration on Tuesday.

Aside From Airbus Ventures, various other investors in the financing round consisted of AEI HorizonX, GPVC, Stellar Ventures and also Industrious Ventures.

"We're on a goal to end up being the solar energy business for space, and also this resources will certainly help us dramatically accelerate shipment of our development technology at range," Stanislau Herasimenka, co-founder and also chief executive officer of Solestial, kept in mind in the statement.

Solestial, founded as Regher Solar at Arizona State University, creates ultrathin as well as lightweight silicon solar cells that can self-cure radiation damage at normal operating temperature levels. The company claims that its photovoltaic panels can be produced at a 90% reduced cost than standard photovoltaic panels utilized in the satellite sector and are developed to attain minimum deterioration for up to one decade in low Earth orbit.

The Tempe, Arizona-based firm has actually signed letters of intent (LOIs) with a series of commercial customers, including startups as well as major players in the defence industry, and has Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) agreements with NASA, NSF and various other federal government companies.