{"id":1447929,"date":"2026-09-24T13:49:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T11:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/?p=1447929"},"modified":"2026-09-24T13:49:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T11:49:31","slug":"star-wars-in-solar-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/news\/star-wars-in-solar-energy","title":{"rendered":"Star Wars in solar energy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For whilst it is true that the United States operates nearly 77 per cent of the world\u2019s operational satellites \u2013 notably through the Starlink constellation \u2013 compared with just 9 per cent for China[1]<\/sup><\/a> , the latter has nevertheless implemented a well-established strategy in the space sector: accepting an initial delay, investing heavily whilst capitalising on existing technological advances, and then scaling up production at lower cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, in December 2025, China applied to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to reserve orbital resources for nearly 203,000 potential satellites[2]<\/sup><\/a> . To realise this ambition, it is making rapid progress in the key area of reusable launch vehicles. In 2026, the country reached a symbolic milestone: the CASC and LandSpace groups successfully carried out the first recoveries of Chinese reusable launch vehicles, replicating the technology that has made SpaceX so successful. The gap with the American leader remains significant, but China\u2019s entry into the era of reusable rockets considerably strengthens its space potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main challenge, however, may lie elsewhere. For the space race is no longer merely a race for observation, communications or even weaponry. It is gradually becoming a race for energy. And in this field, China has major strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its ambition is to generate electricity in space using huge solar panels in orbit, and then to use this energy either to power space-based data centres dedicated to artificial intelligence, to supply future lunar infrastructure, or to transmit it back to Earth in the form of microwaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this race, China\u2019s advantage could be considerable. The country already largely dominates global production of terrestrial photovoltaic panels. It could capitalise on this lead to develop future space-based systems, particularly those based on perovskite \u2013 a new generation of photovoltaic materials that are lighter and potentially more efficient than traditional silicon. This is a decisive advantage when every kilogramme sent into orbit counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is true that numerous challenges remain. No commercial space-based solar power station exists today. Launch costs, in-orbit assembly, energy transmission and equipment maintenance represent considerable obstacles, both technologically and economically. The industrial horizon remains a long way off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But major technological breakthroughs rarely follow a linear path. Fifteen years ago, few observers imagined that China would dominate the solar panel, battery or electric vehicle markets. Today, it aims to replicate this model in space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Europe, often overlooked in oversimplified narratives, is not out of the running. With Ariane 6, Galileo, Copernicus and IRIS, it remains a significant space power. Its pace, however, appears quite different. No European launch vehicle is currently reusable, which constitutes a major competitive disadvantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future of space therefore looks set to be a new Sino-American technological race. But whilst the United States currently maintains a clear lead in satellites and launchers, the chapter on space-based solar power could well be written in Chinese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new battle for sovereignty is unfolding above our heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

__<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disclaimers<\/strong>
These data and opinions, as well as the sectors and securities mentioned, are provided for information purposes only and, as such, do not constitute an offer to buy or sell any security, nor do they constitute investment advice or financial analysis. The opinions are those of the author; LFDE accepts no liability whatsoever in this regard. Past performance is not indicative of future results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

__<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a> Le Point & Look Up Space Geopolitics Barometer, May 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a> www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202601\/1353441.shtml<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The space sector is currently largely dominated by the United States, thanks in particular to SpaceX. But China could soon shake things up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1437614,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[220],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1447929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion-leaders-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1447929"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1447930,"href":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447929\/revisions\/1447930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1437614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1447929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1447929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.payoff.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1447929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}