S4 Episode 3: Space-Based Solar Power live recording

This special episode of the podcast was recorded live in front of an audience in February 2022 as one of a number of popular events run by the Institution of Engineers Australia UK Chapter. It features a panel of experts discussing a very interesting subject that of space-based solar power.

I was joined on stage by

Martin Soltau Co-Chair Space Energy Initiative & Space Business Lead at Frazer-Nash Consultancy

Dr Alice Bunn CEO Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Sam Adlen Chief Strategy Officer, Satellite Applications Catapult and

Ali Stickings Space Strategy lead at Fraser Nash Consultancy

You will also hear remarks from Mark Garnier, MP for Wyre Forest who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Space, and Chair of The Space Energy Initiative Advisory Board as well as Nick Wayth Chief Executive at The Energy Institute.

To provide some context around this episode and the topic, we all accept that fossil fuels are not a sustainable form of energy, and renewable energy such as solar and wind have issues when it is cloudy or calm.

This event was part of The Institution of Engineers Australia UK Chapter's monthly “Spring Forward” hybrid lecture series to look at a potential new form of energy – Space-Based Solar Power.

The concept is not new – it was first mooted by Isaac Asimov as science fiction in the 1940s, and in 1968, Dr Peter Glaser of Arthur D. Little introduced the concept of using microwaves for power transmission from geosynchronous orbit to an Earth-based rectifying antenna.

Since then, technology has advanced on several fronts to remove some technological and economic barriers to practical full-scale implementation.

Issues covered in this episode include:

• How Space-Based power actually works
• The opportunity for generating power from space
• How to overcome challenges in commercialising this technology
• How space-based solar power contributes to the net-zero debate
• The future of space-based solar power generation
• How Space solar power gives Governments options
• Solar power vs Nuclear Fusion
• What will the solution cost?
• The regulatory risks
• The role of Government
• The security concerns
• Who regulates the space segment
• The spin-off benefits
• What are other countries doing?
• The UK-Australia Space Bridge
• The Space Energy Initiative
• The job creation opportunities
• Nick Wayth Chief Executive at Energy Institute comments
• Audience question: How can the UK maintain a lead in this area?
• Audience question: What is happening in Australia?
• Audience question: What can go wrong?
• Mar

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