Silicon solar power specialist gets $21 million for mass production

TAMPA, Fla. — New Mexico-based mPower Technology said May 8 it has raised about $21 million in a Series B funding round to mass-produce its silicon-based solar power modules.

Six satellites are currently using the venture’s interconnected photovoltaic cells in orbit, CEO Kevin Hell told SpaceNews, but hundreds more are under contract and slated to launch in the next few years.

Customers include Airbus, which plans to use mPower’s DragonSCALES technology to power more than 200 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that prime contractor MDA is building for Canada’s Telesat. The Airbus contract alone accounts for more than 1.1 megawatts of solar power.

DragonSCALES modules use commercial off-the-shelf silicon-based tools and processes, which mPower says makes them more customizable and less expensive to produce than traditional cells built with gallium arsenide semiconductor material.

High-volume production is scheduled to begin next month at Universal Instruments’ facilities in Conklin, New York, where the company’s contract manufacturer is upgrading facilities for automation.

The new line would increase throughput and capacity by roughly a factor of 10, Hell said, enabling more than 2 megawatts of modules to be produced annually, greater than the total combined global output of gallium arsenide solar module suppliers.

“DragonSCALES is already flight-proven, so volume is the last hurdle,” he added. “This Series B funding removes that hurdle.”

Contract manufacturer Universal Instruments is ramping up automated production facilities to meet demand. Credit: mPower Technology

Razor’s Edge Ventures led the round, with participation from Shield Capital — both investors known for backing national security-focused technologies.

“Space capabilities have been used as an economic engine and to enhance national security for decades,” Razor’s Edge managing partner Mark Spoto said in a statement.

“The entire space ecosystem is on the cusp of transformational growth, and nothing happens in space without power. It is a critical enabler.”

Including this latest raise, mPower has secured more than $40 million in total funding since spinning out a decade ago from Sandia National Laboratories, a government lab run by Honeywell International.

Hell said mPower has over half a billion dollars’ worth of active sales engagements for LEO constellations and other large-scale projects, including space habitats and lunar missions.

Other customers include Lynk Global, Blue Origin, and Firefly Aerospace.