Space-Based Solar Power: From Vision to Reality

As nations search for resilient, sustainable, and scalable energy solutions to support future economic growth and Net Zero ambitions, space-based solar power is once again moving from science fiction towards serious engineering consideration. Advances in launch capability, lightweight structures, wireless power transmission, robotics, and space infrastructure are accelerating global interest in harvesting solar energy directly from space and transmitting it back to Earth.

Yet significant questions remain. Is space solar power genuinely becoming technically and commercially viable, or does it remain an aspirational concept constrained by cost, complexity, regulation, and infrastructure readiness? While organisations across industry, government, and academia are investing heavily in feasibility studies and demonstrator programmes, there continues to be debate around technology maturity, scalability, orbital sustainability, energy economics, and geopolitical implications.

This webinar will bring together experts from industry, government, and academia to explore the current reality of space solar power: where the technology stands today, what critical engineering and regulatory challenges remain, and whether the UK is positioned to play a leading role in this emerging sector. The discussion will examine the wider ecosystem required to make space solar viable—including launch infrastructure, in-space manufacturing, wireless energy transmission, spectrum considerations, supply chain resilience, and future workforce capability.

The session will also address a broader strategic question: as the global space economy accelerates, could space-based solar power become a transformational component of future energy security and sustainability—or are expectations running ahead of practical reality?