Solestial

Some great coverage on Solestial and our recent $10M financing from our friends at TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/gqUXygqE

Interested in being a part of the Solestial journey as we scale production of our next-gen radiation-hardened silicon solar cells and modules? We’re actively hiring across several key roles including Product Manager, Materials & Process Engineer, EHS Specialist, Laser Process Engineer, and Process Technicians in Solar Module Manufacturing. Each of these positions will play a critical role in helping Solestial scale to 1MW production capacity (and beyond)! These new roles will join our team of 40+ Solestians who recently got together for our annual company offsite in Tempe, AZ (below) – where we spent a few days continuing to shape the company's future vision, refine our plans for scaling production, and deepen connections across our distributed workforce. Visit our careers page to learn more about our open opportunities and see if there’s a role that’s right for you: https://lnkd.in/gzcsedUb

While launch vehicle reusability is the fundamental prerequisite for making life interplanetary, a close second is providing access to abundant power in space. Unlike here on Earth, in space large-scale power will be provided primarily by solar photovoltaics (PV) – and the fundamental barrier to producing large-scale PV power in space is solving radiation-induced degradation of solar cells. At Solestial, we have developed a technology that makes solar cells degrade much slower in the space radiation environment than any other solar cell technology. We have designed mechanisms inside the solar cell that repair the damage produced by electrons and protons in space. Similar to how our skin can heal small bruises, Solestial solar cells can heal small radiation-induced defects – preventing damage accumulation and the resulting accumulating loss of solar cell efficiency over time. What makes Solestial solar cells unique is that they can achieve this healing at operating conditions in space, while other solar cells need to be exposed to very high temperatures in order to heal – which they will never experience in space. In Solestial solar cells, testing shows annealing of radiation induced-defects occurs at temperatures as low as 65C, while they are being exposed to full sunlight and operating at their maximum power point – the conditions most closely recreating solar cell operation in space. Our Head of Product, Diana Aponte, recently reported annealing experiment results at the 41st Space Power Workshop in Torrance, CA, which showed that annealing rates in our solar cells will be much faster than the defect formation rates in most space environments. This allows our solar cells to self-heal the damage accumulated during the 'cold and dark' phases of their operation every time they see the Sun and get warm. By doing so, our solar cells will degrade much slower than commodity silicon solar cells, enabling dramatically longer effective lifetimes of silicon solar modules in space. Solestial solar cells are the first cost-effective solar cells that can achieve long lifetimes in space. This is important for scaled operations in LEO, but this unique self-healing ability can also open the door for missions with extreme radiation doses such as those received in MEO, during LEO to GEO orbit transfers, or during large-scale infrastructure projects with >20-year lifespans where even III-V solar cells start experiencing substantial degradation. Solestial is on track to solve one of the prerequisites for making life interplanetary and we're excited to share the details of our journey with you.

Last fall Solestial set an ambitious goal to ramp up to 1 MW of radiation-hardened silicon solar cell and module production in just one year. Today, we are continuing on pace to meet this goal with the commissioning of new processing equipment at our production facility in Tempe, AZ. Customers will begin receiving the first solar cells and solar modules produced at our newly-expanded, 30,000 square foot facility in early fall. As our production line continues ramping to its full capacity by year end, it is expected to begin producing as many solar cells and solar modules as all of the III-V space solar manufacturers combined. But this is just the beginning for Solestial – our technology was specifically designed to remove scaling bottlenecks and unlock the next-generation of space photovoltaics – ultimately allowing us to deliver on our broader mission of delivering abundant energy in space. 10MW for communications constellations, 100MW for lunar settlement and resource extraction, 1,000 MW for space-based solar power – Solestial was built to scale and serve all of these projects, and others yet to be imagined. Learn more about our manufacturing facilities here: https://lnkd.in/gAFpi_iw

Headed to the Future Military Space Technology USA conference next week? Our Head of Government Business Development, Vince Hearn, will be on site Monday and Tuesday to meet and discuss our radiation-hardened silicon solar products. Whether you’re looking for solar cells, flexible solar power modules, integrated solar power modules, or complete solar arrays for your next mission – Solestial's breakthrough technology delivers competitive performance at 90% lower cost than III-V multijunction solar products. Schedule your meeting for next week here: https://lnkd.in/grmm42NR Also, ICYMI: We launched our new website last week! Take a look at the new solestial.com and learn more about our silicon solar products: solestial.com/products

Welcome to the new Solestial.com! We’re excited to share a brand new website that dives deep into our next generation silicon solar technology, our expanded product offering, our company mission, and more. 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 Solestial exists to deliver abundant energy in space. Learn more about how we’re designing our products to deliver space-optimized silicon photovoltaic technology at scale and serve the ever-growing need for solar power in space–from large satellite constellations to space-based solar power to lunar settlement and resource extraction. 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗦 We are delivering the next generation of space-stable silicon photovoltaics. Our efficient, reliable, radiation-hardened solutions feature competitive performance and 90% lower cost than III-V multijunction solar products. Learn more about our solar cells, flexible solar power modules, integrated solar power modules, and solar array partnerships. 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗬 Solestial’s roots go back to 2010 when co-founders Stan Herasimenka and Mikhail Reginevich met and bonded over a shared interest in solar cells. Today, we’re a 40 person team on plan to reach 1 MW/yr production capacity by the end of 2024 from our ~30,000 square feet manufacturing facility in Tempe, AZ. 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥𝗦 Solestial is a community of innovators that continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible. Check out our open positions for an opportunity to be a part of a collaborative team where creativity and problem-solving are celebrated: https://lnkd.in/gzcsedUb We hope you enjoy the new site as much as we do. Have a look around and let us know what you think!

This past week we had the opportunity to host members of the Boeing Applied Innovation team at our 27,000 sq. ft. solar power module manufacturing facility in Tempe, AZ. It’s always a pleasure having our partners on site and getting them up to speed on how we’re continuing to scale our manufacturing processes and optimize our production line on the way to 1 MW/year production capacity later this year. Below you'll see Diana Aponte (Head of Product) and Antony Aguilar (Facility Development and Operations Manager) showcasing several different solar power module configurations that recently came off the production line in Tempe. Special thanks to Hayden Shea and Ella Spillane of Boeing for making the trip out and for their continued partnership and support.

Our Head of Product, Diana Aponte, will be presenting her abstract at The Aerospace Corporation’s 41st Annual Space Power Workshop in Torrance, CA next week. Join her for a deep-dive into how Solestial’s self-curing silicon solar cells effectively anneal electron and proton damage at operating temperature and maximum power point conditions. Can’t make the live session or want to learn more about how Solestial’s solar technology can power your next mission? Schedule a meeting with Diana on site at: https://bit.ly/3U6HmHW

Interested in learning more about how Solestial’s rad-hard silicon solar cells and flexible solar power modules can help unlock the potential of space-based solar power? Our Head of Government Business Development, Vince Hearn, will be on site at the International Conference on Energy from Space 2024 next week, April 17-19. Schedule a meeting to learn how Solestial is delivering on the promise of high-scale solar power module production at 1/10 the cost of traditional III-V solar: https://bit.ly/4aphePk See you all at the Royal Aeronautical Society HQ in London!

Traveling to Colorado Springs next week? Meet with Luke Gordon, Solestial’s Head of Commercial Business Development, at Space Foundation’s #SpaceSymposium. Schedule time with Luke to learn more about our flexible, silicon solar power modules for space: https://bit.ly/4a5q1FT #spacesolar #solarpowermodule