Baiju Bhatt, the billionaire co-founder of Robinhood, has launched a new startup called Aetherflux. The company aims to provide cheap, clean power anywhere on Earth using satellites that collect and transmit solar energy from orbit. Aetherflux’s approach differs from traditional space-based solar power concepts.
Instead of sending large, expensive spacecraft to geostationary orbit, the startup plans to build a massive constellation of smaller satellites in low Earth orbit. Each satellite will be equipped with a solar array, a battery, and a near-optical infrared laser to transmit the power down to the ground. Although the satellites will not be constantly exposed to the sun due to their altitude, Aetherflux intends to deploy thousands of these spacecraft to accumulate massive amounts of energy.
Bhatt believes that this approach will be more cost-effective and scalable compared to other companies working on space-based solar power.
Aetherflux’s unique satellite power approach
“What we’re doing at Aetherflux is a different approach to space solar power,” Bhatt said in a recent interview.
“As we like to say, it is not your grandpa’s space solar power approach.”
Bhatt, whose net worth tops $1.7 billion, has invested “millions” of his own capital into Aetherflux and is committed to funding through the first demonstration mission. The company is working toward sending up a demonstration spacecraft in late 2025 or early 2026 to prove that its technology works. The spacecraft, being built by satellite bus manufacturer Apex, will aim to demonstrate solar energy transmission using the infrared laser and set a distance record for how far power can be transmitted.
Aetherflux’s constellation will need to be highly efficient in converting solar power to compensate for the inevitable drop in power that will occur as the energy is transmitted to the solar panels and then to the ground. The “stretch goal,” according to Bhatt, is to eventually have each satellite send enough energy back to Earth to power a small neighborhood. Bhatt admits that space-based solar is entirely theoretical at the moment, but he believes that with a few “industrialization revs,” the comparison to terrestrial solar will become more even-keeled.
If successful, Aetherflux could potentially unlock a massive market for renewable energy, especially in areas where building traditional power infrastructure is challenging, such as remote mining operations or military bases.
