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Space solar startup preps laser-beamed power demo for 2026 | Aetherflux hopes to revive and test a 1970s concept for beaming solar power from space to receivers on Earth using lasers
Space solar power, or what I like to call Starlink for electricity, is at once a ludicrous idea and a bit of a pipe dream. None of that is stopping Baiju Bhatt from giving it a go.
The billionaire co-founder of financial services app Robinhood has a new startup called Aetherflux focused purely on beaming solar power from satellites to receivers on Earth. The company heavily emphasizes that last bit in its spiel, and has secured approval for its program to be supported this financial year by the US Department of Defense's Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF). Science YouTuber Sabine Hossenfelder is skeptical about the tech because of major challenges like the satellites facing potentially damaging temperature fluctuations in Earth’s shadow a few times a year, and the need for ultra-precise beam synchronization on intricately assembled power transmitters.
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