Japan tests technology for generating solar energy from space
- June 3, 2023
- 0
Solar panels in space will transmit energy in the form of microwave radiation. Thanks to this technology, you can obtain solar energy during the day, at night and
Solar panels in space will transmit energy in the form of microwave radiation. Thanks to this technology, you can obtain solar energy during the day, at night and even in bad weather. The global race to develop technology to transmit solar energy collected in space to Earth continues. Japan plans to conduct full-scale tests as early as 2025, Building-tech.org reports.
Space solar power was proposed by an American physicist in 1968. The concept is to launch solar panels into space to generate electricity at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers.
Solar energy is converted into microwaves, the same electromagnetic radiation used in microwave ovens, and sent to receiving stations on the ground to be converted into electrical energy. Microwaves can penetrate clouds and provide a constant source of radiated energy regardless of the time of day and weather.
In Japan, the research is being led by a group chaired by former Kyoto University President Hiroshi Matsumoto. In the 1980s, he was the first person in the world to successfully transmit energy into space using microwaves.
In 2009, he used a group of zeppelins to transfer energy to a mobile phone on the ground from a height of 30 meters. Researchers are working to improve the core technology of the wireless power supply.
Researchers have already successfully conducted experiments on transmitting microwave energy over a distance of 50 meters horizontally in 2015 and vertically in 2018. Vertical transmission tests up to 5 km distance will be done soon.
The group plans to conduct a major experiment as early as 2025 to find out if it is possible to transmit energy from space to earth. The satellites will be used to send energy to ground stations hundreds of kilometers away.
Competitors are also working in this direction. The US Air Force Research Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology run large-scale projects. Parties like Chongqing University are developing the technology in China, and the European Space Agency is developing its own plans for energy transfer from space.
Source: Port Altele
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