Space: a source of inspiration for the terrestrial solar industry

Can space-based solar power galvanise innovation in solar infrastructure on Earth? Historically, solar energy production has been inextricably linked with the conquest of space. Most artificial satellites currently in orbit around the Earth are equipped with solar panels. Over the decades, space-based solar equipment has become increasingly competitive and has made substantial technical progress. Being ultra-lightweight, highly efficient, and foldable, it has the potential to open up new horizons for terrestrial use cases. Researchers at the Photovoltaic Institute of Île‑de‑France and the École Polytechnique Laboratory of Physics of Interfaces and Thin Films are working on solar curtains to be deployed on facades, rooftops or overhead lines, or over agricultural land.

05/20/2026