For decades, the idea of generating gigawatts of affordable, clean energy from space has captured the imagination, envisioning satellites that harness solar power and transmit it anywhere on Earth, day or night.
Aetherflux, a new startup that emerged from stealth mode on Wednesday, claims to be pioneering a unique design for space-based solar energy to finally unlock this potential.
“What we’re doing at Aetherflux is a different approach of space solar power,” said Aetherflux founder Baiju Bhatt in a recent interview. “As we like to say, it is not your grandpa’s space solar power approach.”
Although the concept of space-based solar energy has been explored for years, Aetherflux distinguishes itself in significant ways: through the number of satellites, their orbit, and their size.
Previous methods have typically focused on deploying large, expensive spacecraft to geostationary orbit, where they could capture sunlight almost continuously and beam it to a specific location on Earth.
In contrast, Aetherflux aims to create a vast constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit, each equipped with a solar array, a battery, and a near-optical infrared laser for power transmission.
While these satellites won’t have constant sunlight due to their altitude, and each solar array may not generate substantial power independently, the startup envisions deploying thousands of these spacecraft to harness significant energy collectively.
Bhatt founded the startup late last year and shifted his full attention to it after stepping down from his leadership position at the financial trading platform Robinhood, which he co-founded.
Although a transition to the space sector might seem unexpected, Bhatt has long had an interest in space—his father worked for NASA at Langley Air Force Base—and he holds advanced degrees in physics and math from Stanford.
He noted that the commercialization of space in the past decade has opened up new opportunities. “The thing that’s always been my interest is, how do you bring more capitalism to space?”
Space-based solar energy is indeed one way to achieve that. If Aetherflux succeeds, it could tap into a vast market. However, the company first needs to demonstrate that its concept is viable.
Aetherflux is currently preparing for its inaugural mission, aiming to launch a demonstration spacecraft in the fourth quarter of 2025 or the first quarter of 2026.
This spacecraft, being developed by satellite bus manufacturer Apex, will test solar energy transmission using the infrared laser; if successful, it will establish a record for the distance over which power can be transmitted, according to Bhatt.
He acknowledges that space-based solar remains largely theoretical at this stage.
But he is optimistic, stating, “let’s give this technical solution a couple of industrialization revs, and I think the comparison [to terrestrial solar] will be a little bit more even-keeled.”
Aetherflux’s constellation must achieve high efficiency in converting solar energy to offset the power loss that occurs when transmitting energy to the solar panels and then down to Earth.
Bhatt stated that the “stretch goal” is for each satellite to eventually deliver enough energy back to Earth to power a small neighborhood.
In the lead-up to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, which takes place at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 28-30, all six stage agendas will feature valuable insights on AI, fintech, builders, disrupt, SaaS, and space.
According to a spokesperson, Bhatt, whose net worth exceeds $1.7 billion as reported by Forbes, has invested “millions” of his own money into Aetherflux and is dedicated to funding the initial demonstration mission.
