Space Forge is racing to become the first company capable of space-based advanced materials manufacturing, which could be a boon for future semiconductors, quantum computing, clean energy and defense technologies.
Space Forge just raised $30 million in funding, the largest funding round in U.K. space technology history, the company said.
Why space-based manufacturing?
The company said that by harnessing the conditions of space like microgravity, vacuum and extreme temperature differentials, it can unlock the ability to manufacture materials that are impossible to produce on Earth.
Space Forge said some of the benefits to manufacturing in space include:
- Cutting CO2 emissions by 75%
- Cutting energy use by 60%
Space planning
The ForgeStar platform, which is a series of reusable satellites designed for in-orbit manufacturing, is set to accelerate development with the investment. The company’s first in-orbit demonstration mission, dubbed ForgeStar-1, is set to launch later this year.
The demonstration of the reusable, scalable platform holds potential to reduce the dependency of Earth-based manufacturing systems and could feasibly strengthen semiconductor supply chains, Space Forge said.
“Demand for computing power is doubling every two months,” said Daria Saharova, general partner at World Fund, which participated in the $30 million investment. “Europe imports 80% of its chip supply, with 90% of the world’s most-advanced semiconductors coming from Taiwan. A geopolitical escalation there could have catastrophic consequences for Europe. We urgently need a resilient, homegrown supply of the next-gen supermaterials required for the future of compute. We also need this homegrown chip supply to be produced sustainably.”
