Value chain · CLM-0508
In plain terms
An independent university research group has modelled a solar-cell design that could need over thirty times less protective shielding weight than today's space solar cells, but the design exists only in computer simulation.
The claim as recorded
A peer-reviewed Solar RRL paper from the Universities of Cambridge and Southampton, with Ioannina and Nottingham Trent co-authors (not affiliated with Ian Cash, Space Solar or International Electric Company, though funded by DESNZ grant SBSP1003 and citing Cash 2019 as its reference 7), models an ultra-thin tandem cell concept ("ASTRAL") achieving a more than 30-times reduction in radiation-shielding mass per unit photovoltaic area versus conventional coverglass, using a 2-micrometre dielectric coating rather than 100 micrometres, while surviving "decades" in GEO; no ASTRAL device has been fabricated or tested.
Scope and limits
MODELLED only; no fabricated device exists. Independence is institutional only: the work shares its funder (DESNZ, SBSP1003) with the UK SBSP programme and cites the CASSIOPeiA paper (SRC-003 PDF p.1, p.15); the authors declare no conflicts (PDF p.14). This is the largest single independently-sourced, non-CASSIOPeiA-affiliated contributor toward a higher system-level specific power identified anywhere in this case.
What it assumes
The paper's radiation-degradation model, calibrated against separate 80nm-thick-device experimental data, extrapolates correctly to the 100nm case modelled.
Where it comes from
p.5 (CLM-0431, corrected 2026-09-03): ">30x shielding mass reduction per PV unit area."
Basis: radiation-shielding mass per unit PV area, modelled, GEO orbit
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-002 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-0508
CLM-0508, Energy Aperture, as of 2025.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-003
- CLM-0200A new solar cell design, tested only in computer models, is predicted to convert more than 25% of sunlight to electricity in orbit.CLM-0202In simulation, this new cell design can produce a strong 1 kW per square metre of power while staying at a moderate 50 degrees C.CLM-0431This cell design might need over 30 times less shielding mass, from a coating 50 times thinner, than today's space solar cells, while still...