U Toledo Developing Solar Sheets to Generate Power in Space

The University of Toledo just received a five-year, $12.5 million grant from the U.S. Air Force to develop flexible solar cell sheets for space. The photovoltaic energy sheets will be used to collect solar energy for powering Earth-based receivers or other orbital or aerial instrumentation, such as communications satellites.

Physicists at the institution will develop flexible solar cell sheets, each about the size of a piece of paper, which can be assembled and connected into considerably larger structures. A single space-based array could use tens of millions of the sheets and extend to sizes as large as a square mile. (U Toledo won't be engineering the arrays, however.) An array of that size is projected to be able to generate about 800 megawatts of electrical power, enough to power about 130,000 houses on earth for the day.

Professor Randall Ellingson receives grant from U.S. Air Force
Randall Ellingson, a professor of physics, received a $12.5 million grant from the U.S. Air Force to develop space-based solar energy sheets for transmitting clean power back to Earth or satellites in orbit.
Source: University of Toledo

The researchers are building tandem solar cells—two cells stacked on top of each other that are more efficient for harvesting the sun's spectrum—on ultra-thin, flexible supporting materials. The team will "sandwich" various groupings of solar cells, including perovskites, silicon, cadmium telluride and copper indium gallium selenide, to see what the optimal combination is. The team will also investigate the use of lightweight, flexible supporting material—thin ceramic, plastics and glass—to create the large solar cell sheets. According to the physicists, those materials need to be "resilient, ultra-thin and tolerant to high and low temperatures."

"With 37% stronger sunlight above the atmosphere than on a typical sunny day here on Earth's surface, orbital solar arrays offer a critical opportunity to harness renewable energy, achieve sustainability goals and provide strategic power for a wide range of orbital and airborne technologies," said Randall Ellingson, a professor in the university's Department of Physics and Astronomy, member of the school's Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization and leader of the project, in a statement.

This isn't the first time Ellingson has worked with the Air Force on space projects. In 2019, his team received $7.4 million to develop solar technology to power space vehicles using sunlight.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • dormitory with green roofs, solar panels, balconies, and labeled architectural annotations

    2025 Residence Hall Design Trends Focus on Sustainability, Flexibility, Community, Technology, and Well-Being

    With the most technically advanced Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) at the helm, residence hall design trends for 2025 look to focus on flexible spaces, health and wellness, sustainability, community, and digital technology.

  • ClassVR Wins Tech & Learning Best of Show at ISTELive 25

    Avantis Education recently announced that its flagship product, ClassVR, won the Tech & Learning Best of Show Award at ISTELive 25 in San Antonio, Texas, according to a news release. The program is designed to celebrate products that are “transforming education in schools around the world and that show the greatest promise for the industry,” and this is the fourth consecutive year that Avantis has claimed the award.

  • Beeville ISD Starts Construction on New Elementary School

    The Beeville Independent School District near Corpus Christi, Texas, recently began a construction project that will consolidate two existing, aging schools into a new elementary school, according to a news release. The district is partnering with Pfluger Architects and Spawglass General Contractors for the design and construction, respectively, of the new facility.

  • ECM Technologies Wins ‘Most Innovative Business of the Year’ Award

    HVAC preventative maintenance and efficiency solutions provider ECM Technologies was recently named the “Most Innovative Business of the Year” at the 2025 Champions of Change Awards, according to a news release. The program recognizes Arizona business leaders and organizations taking steps to make a positive impact on the state through innovative thinking and philanthropy.

Digital Edition