Satellites are becoming more capable, but their energy systems remain constrained by solar panels, batteries, and orbital conditions.
Turin-based ORiS has secured €5 million to develop laser-based wireless power transmission for space and dual-use applications. The package includes a €4.5 million pre-seed round led by Earlybird and co-led by Pitchdrive, plus a €500,000 regional grant. Galaxia, Vento, and Piemonte Next Fund also participated.
Founded in 2024 at Politecnico di Torino by Andrea Villa, Anna Mauro, Domenico Edoardo Sfasciamuro, and Francesco Lopez, ORiS is building what it describes as an in-orbit energy distribution grid. Its long-term goal is to let satellites receive additional power directly in space instead of relying only on onboard generation and storage.
Power as an orbital service
More capable satellites require more energy for communications, sensing, computing, and payload operations.
ORiS’s technology is designed to transmit power using lasers between platforms. In practice, that could allow operators to run payloads more frequently, continue operating during eclipse periods, and extend useful mission life as onboard solar systems degrade.
The broader idea is to treat energy as shared orbital infrastructure.
Instead of designing every spacecraft around peak power requirements, future operators could potentially access external energy when needed. That could influence satellite size, battery capacity, mission planning, and the economics of high-power payloads.
A dual-use path through drone recharging
ORiS is not waiting for a full satellite network before validating the technology.
Its LOONA prototype, developed through NATO DIANA’s accelerator, applies the same wireless power concept to drones. The company reports that it has demonstrated power transfer to a hovering drone at a distance of more than 100 meters.
This dual-use approach gives ORiS a nearer-term test environment and potential commercial pathway. Wireless recharging could support drones used for surveillance, inspection, emergency response, and operations in locations where landing or battery replacement is difficult.
The same technical knowledge may later support power transfer in Low Earth Orbit and on the lunar surface, including energy delivery to rovers and other assets.
Funding the flight roadmap
ORiS plans to use the capital to expand its engineering team, accelerate research on critical subsystems, and move into facilities with laboratory and clean-room capabilities.
It will also advance LOONA toward a deployable product and develop a flight model for a future satellite-to-satellite wireless power mission. The first in-orbit demonstration, planned with DCUBED for 2027, is expected to test power transmission across a distance of 10 meters.
The market signal
Space infrastructure is moving beyond launch vehicles and satellites toward shared services in orbit.
Refueling, servicing, computing, communications, and energy distribution are emerging as potential infrastructure layers for a more active space economy.
ORiS is betting that power can become one of those services.
The next test is technical reliability. The company must demonstrate accurate targeting, efficient energy transfer, safe operations, and performance across changing orbital conditions.
If those challenges can be solved, wireless power could change how future satellites are designed—and how long they remain commercially useful.
Source : Official Announcement
