Space-based solar power

Overview Energy, Space Solar, NASA, the European Space Agency and California Institute of Technology are among the named participants. Overview Energy is associated with laser transmission, while Space Solar is developing its CASSIOPeiA microwave concept. Other organizations listed include Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Airbus and Northrop Grumman, spanning research, development and commercial activity.

Overview Energy and Space Solar are listed as startups, and TerraSpark announced a pre-seed financing round in March 2026. Overview Energy is developing laser power delivery and reported an airborne demonstration; Space Solar is developing the CASSIOPeiA concept. TerraSpark is pursuing a ground-first approach to radio-frequency power transmission before scaling toward orbital systems.

NASA, the European Space Agency, California Institute of Technology and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are prominent research organizations in the field. China Academy of Space Technology is studying microwave transmission and phased demonstrations. Xidian University also works on system design, including reflective and receiving surfaces and steerable microwave transmission.

The funding figures list $25,465,257 across 8 grants since 2020 and $150,309,341 across 6 funding rounds. The round entries include financing associated with universities and do not clearly establish that every amount was dedicated to space-based solar power. Treat the round total as a broad funding signal rather than a confirmed SBSP-only investment total.

Overview Energy Inc. leads the listed patent holders with 3 patents. Hitachi Ltd., Denso Corporation and Oqab Dietrich Induction Inc. each have 1 listed patent. The figures identify named holders in the patent data; they do not establish the full ownership or licensing status of each invention.

The figures report 7 patents in the 24-month window and patent growth of -100%. By contrast, publications reached 248 in the latest year, with growth of 29.8%. The patent measure therefore points to weaker recent patent activity than publication activity, though the figures alone do not explain the difference.

A China Academy of Space Technology study published in August 2026 presented the design and validation of an integrated microwave power-transmitting array. In October 2026, the U.S. Department of Defense contracted Overview Energy to design, build and test a homing beacon for space-based power delivery. Recent research also examines reflective and receiving surfaces, beam efficiency and ionospheric effects.

The main approaches include microwave transmission, laser transmission, photovoltaic conversion, solar thermal conversion and orbital architectures. Microwaves can serve large ground receivers but demand beam control and receiving infrastructure. Lasers offer directed optical delivery but face atmospheric and safety constraints. Photovoltaics generate electricity directly, while thermal systems concentrate sunlight and add heat-conversion stages.

The United States leads the country-level document figures with 1,557 documents, followed by the United Kingdom with 746 and China with 690. France and Japan are also active, with 439 and 423 documents respectively. These figures indicate documented activity, not a direct ranking of deployment readiness or technical capability.

Grid-scale electricity is a major listed application, with 347 documents, alongside space infrastructure with 231 and defense and security with 90. Other listed uses include industrial and commercial energy and remote or off-grid power. These categories reflect potential system uses; the figures do not mean that commercial delivery has been established.