TerraSpark secures €5M+ for space-based solar power
▼ Summary
– TerraSpark, a Luxembourg startup, is developing space-based solar power by first proving its radio-frequency wireless power transmission technology on Earth for commercial use.
– The company was co-founded by Dr. Sanjay Vijendran, who previously led the European Space Agency’s Solaris space-based solar power initiative until it was paused in 2024.
– It has raised over €5 million in a pre-seed funding round led by the venture capital firm Daphni and several other investors.
– The company’s phased roadmap aims to demonstrate Earth-based wireless power by 2026, launch an orbital demonstrator by 2027, and achieve space-to-Earth power transmission by 2028.
– Its initial commercial applications on Earth will power remote sites and events, generating revenue and de-risking the technology before scaling to orbit.
A Luxembourg-based startup has secured a significant funding milestone to advance a pragmatic vision for space-based solar power. TerraSpark announced this week it has raised over €5 million in a pre-seed financing round. The investment was led by Paris-based venture capital firm Daphni, with participation from Sake Bosch, better ventures, Hans(wo)men Group, the Luxembourg Business Angel Network, and Karaoke Club. The company’s strategy involves proving its core technology on Earth first, a deliberate approach to de-risking one of the most ambitious concepts in clean energy.
The company’s co-founder and chief technology officer brings unique credibility to this mission. Dr. Sanjay Vijendran was a principal leader of the European Space Agency’s Solaris initiative, a dedicated research program launched in 2022 to assess the feasibility of space-based solar power for Europe. After ESA concluded in August 2024 that the technology required further maturation before a demonstration mission, Vijendran departed to establish TerraSpark privately. His experience provides an intimate understanding of both the technical hurdles and the regulatory pathway required for success.
Historically, the concept has been dismissed due to its staggering imagined scale, envisioning massive gigawatt-class satellites constructed entirely in geostationary orbit. TerraSpark is challenging that perception with a modular and phased roadmap. Its initial focus is not in space, but on the ground. The company is developing commercial radio-frequency wireless power transmission systems for terrestrial use. These systems are designed to supply energy to remote industrial sites, temporary events, and other locations where laying traditional power cables is impractical or prohibitively expensive.
This earth-first strategy serves multiple critical functions. It generates early revenue, progressively de-risks the fundamental wireless power beaming technology, and builds regulatory confidence through demonstrated, controlled operations. The company frames it as proving the system’s safety and reliability on the ground before asking anyone to trust it in orbit. This foundational work supports a concrete three-phase technical plan.
The first phase, targeted for 2026, involves demonstrating precise wireless power transmission over controlled distances on Earth, validating alignment accuracy, energy density, and atmospheric tolerance. In 2027, TerraSpark plans to launch an orbital technology demonstrator satellite. The following year, the goal is to achieve the first space-to-Earth power transmission milestone, beaming energy from a satellite prototype to a ground receiver. The long-term vision is full commercial deployment in the 2030s, with a constellation capable of delivering continuous, weather-independent renewable energy anywhere on the globe. An early pilot application will involve supplying wireless power for a live event.
TerraSpark was founded in 2025 by CEO Jasper Deprez, a serial entrepreneur, alongside CTO Vijendran and COO Matthias Laug. The company is headquartered in Luxembourg, a growing European hub for space economy ventures, partly due to its supportive regulatory environment for commercial space activities. While other global initiatives pursue orbital demonstrations or niche defense applications first, TerraSpark’s European positioning and ground-up infrastructure focus set it apart. The central question remains whether a viable market for this revolutionary power source will materialize at scale within this decade, but with fresh capital and a pragmatic plan, TerraSpark is building its case one transmission at a time.
(Source: The Next Web)