Solestial Inc., a Tempe company that makes solar panels to be used in outer space, said that its recently closed oversubscribed $10 million seed round will allow it to ramp up production and customer engagement.
The round was led by California-based Airbus Ventures, an early-stage venture capital company that looks to fund startups that will change the aerospace industry. Also on board for the round were AEI HorizonX, GPVC, Stellar Ventures, Industrious Ventures and others.
Solestial says it can build its solar panels at 10% of the cost of those widely used in the satellite industry. The technology involves ultra-thin silicon voltaic panels optimized for space with at least 10 years of low-earth-orbit reliability. The company also says its panels can self-cure radiation damage at normal operating temperatures — a key feature that keeps degradation at a minimum over decades in space, Solestial said.
The funding will help the company as it expands with ground and flight testing, and some of the money will go to further research and development as well as efforts to take the product to market.
Solestial said it has already signed letters of intent with companies for deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Solestial did not name those companies but said they include major defense contractors as well as small startups. Demand is expected to keep growing, the company said, as the satellite industry is set to grow from 5,000 operational satellites to a projected 100,000 by 2030.
“We’re on a mission to become the solar energy company for space, and this capital will help us dramatically accelerate delivery of our breakthrough technology at scale,” said Stanislau Herasimenka, co-founder and CEO of Solestial, in a statement. “We deeply and humbly appreciate the vote of confidence from each of the investors in this extremely strong syndicate led by Airbus Ventures, and we couldn’t be more excited to roll up our sleeves and get to work on this important next phase.”
Solestial's roots at Arizona State University
The company was founded by Herasimenka and Mikhail Reginevich in 2013, originally launching through Arizona State University as Regher Solar. The company has subsequently been developing the technology for the solar cells. Along the way, the company said, it has won NASA, National Science Foundation and other government Small Business Innovation Research contracts worth more than $2.5 million.
“Looking ahead, Solestial is uniquely positioned to enable long-lasting, highly efficient infrastructure for Earth orbit, cislunar space, and operations on the moon itself, helping unlock the energy and resources of our whole planetary system for the benefit of life on Earth,” Herasimenka said in a statement.
Airbus Ventures Partner Mat Costes said the aerospace and energy industries are at “a new inflection point,” and that Solestial is well poised to meet the challenges ahead.
“From the start of our diligence process, we were instantly impressed by Solestial’s solar cell technology, and we're proud to be leading this impressive syndicate on a mission to help deliver advanced, lightweight, cost-effective solutions that power the new space economy,” Costes said in a statement.
Airbus Ventures, which is an arm of aerospace giant Airbus, says it invests in autonomous mobility, electrification, low-carbon economy, advanced materials, manufacturing systems, next-generation computing, and more.
