A research project at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is preparing to test a “breakthrough” technology that could generate solar power in space for use on Earth.
The institution, and its Space-based Solar Power Project (SSPP), recently disclosed a $100 million donation made in 2013 by Donald Bren, chairman of Irvine Company and a member of the Caltech Board of Trustees, to fund the research.
SSPP will soon execute a test launch of multifunctional technology-demonstrator prototypes that “collect sunlight and convert it to electrical energy, transfer energy wirelessly in free-space using radio frequency electrical power and deploy ultralight structures that will be used to integrate them.”
“Donald Bren has brought the same drive and discipline that he has demonstrated with master planning communities to the Space Solar Program,” Caltech President Thomas F. Rosenbaum said. “He has presented a remarkable technical challenge that promises a remarkable payoff for humanity: a world powered by uninterruptible renewable energy.”
The project’s first test will occur in early 2023, according to a press release.
