Ascent Solar Advances Thin-Film Power Beaming Capabilities via Collaborative Agreement with NASA

June 26, 2025

DENVER, Colo., Jun 26, 2025 (247marketnews.com)- Ascent Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:ASTI) announced entering into a Collaborative Agreement Notice (CAN) with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), with additional support from NASA’s Glenn Research Center (GRC), to develop and mature thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solutions for advanced space-based power beaming applications.

Under this 12-month public-private partnership, Ascent and NASA will work together to accelerate the development of flexible CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) PV modules capable of efficiently converting high-intensity beamed energy into usable electrical power. This effort is aimed at enabling next-generation mission architectures that rely on power beaming—a breakthrough approach for space power delivery that could significantly reduce spacecraft mass and improve power flexibility.

Paul Warley, CEO of Ascent Solar Technologies, commented, “This collaboration with NASA further bolsters our longstanding belief that the unique capabilities of thin-film solar technology will play an integral role in overcoming the challenges of reliably converting solar energy and also receive beamed power in a breadth of harsh space environments.”

Pioneering the Future of Space Power

The CAN program is designed to fast-track innovation through rapid prototyping and testing. Ascent will contribute design and engineering expertise, while NASA MSFC and GRC will provide technical guidance and access to testing infrastructure. The goal: to deliver commercially viable products that support distributed space power systems, reducing cost, complexity, and mission risk.

A Validated Technology with Proven Results

This agreement follows successful bench tests at NASA MSFC in 2024, where Ascent’s commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) modules demonstrated the ability to receive and convert beamed energy. The tests build on the momentum of NASA’s Psyche Mission, which proved deep-space laser communication over 19 million miles, further validating the promise of tightly focused energy transmission.

The CAN will assess Ascent’s modules under extreme illumination, simulating beams equivalent to dozens of suns, to evaluate their ability to generate more power on-demand. Such capabilities could lead to significant reductions in solar array size, mass, and volume, enabling larger scientific payloads and more efficient spacecraft.

Enabling Lunar Exploration and Science

As power is a limiting factor for long-duration planetary missions, Ascent’s lightweight, high-efficiency PV modules could reduce landed mass requirements, one of the costliest aspects of lunar missions. This directly supports key NASA programs such as the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), Artemis Moon missions, and upcoming planetary science campaigns.

Power beaming could be vital in solving persistent challenges, such as surviving the lunar night or powering operations in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) where water ice, critical for future in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), is believed to reside.

Ultimately, a lighter, modular, and beam-enabled power solution could cut mission costs by tens of millions of dollars per lunar lander, a compelling benefit in an era when lunar delivery rates range from six to seven figures per kilogram.

Strategic Impact for NASA and Global Partners

This CAN represents a cross-center NASA initiative that demonstrates how government-industry collaboration can drive smarter, faster progress. Power beaming could dramatically increase the return on NASA’s investment, delivering more mission capabilities for less.

With 55 nations signed onto the Artemis Accords since 2020, scalable and efficient lunar infrastructure becomes a global imperative. Ascent’s partnership with NASA shows how innovation and collaboration can unlock the full potential of the Moon, and beyond.

                       

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