Department of Science & Technology’s Technology Development Board (TDB) has announce financial support of ₹14 crore to Hyderabad-based space startup Dhruva Space for its ‘Space Grade Solar Array Fabrication and Test Facility’ for spacecraft applications on Wednesday.
The objective of the project is to pioneer technological innovations in solar panel manufacturing to meet the rigorous demands of on-orbit usage with innovations to be tried out on adoption of new materials like carbon fibre and resins to enhance performance and durability plus focusing on process innovations in solar cell assembly (SCA) through novel stringing and bonding techniques, said an official release.
Dhruva Space has aims to manufacture high-efficiency solar panels targeting an efficiency of up to 30% by developing a specialised test facility to ensure compliance and certification of space-grade solar arrays in the long term.
