Helios: Placing Solar Panels in Space to Maximize Energy Efficiency.
By: Ethan Shah
Tags: Solar Energy, Poverty, Moonshots, Space

What is Helios?

Helios is a company created by Michael Yang, Ethan Shah, and Ethan Selvarajah. We have created a theory that will allow the Earth to be powered using solar energy, by increasing how effective it is, and giving it to those in need.

Our Vision:

We want to place solar panel closer to the Sun to maximize energy efficiency. This will allow for a world that is powered using environmental friendly methods.

Current Solution:

The current solution is to create solar panels and place them on roofs, this is ineffective. The solar panels collect 15–20% of energy, and are only available during specific conditions. It must be a clear sunny day to get the best out of these commercial solar panels. Unfortunately, commercial solar panels don’t cut it. That’s why we created Helios.

Our Solution:

How Does It Work:

We are going to create solar panels in space by sending material into space via reusable rockets, tethers, or spin launching. When the solar panel starts collecting energy it will use a small amount to power a microwave emitter, the emitter will wirelessly send energy to Earth and will be received by an antenna. The antenna will then send the power to a battery to be stored and dispersed later.

How Is This Better:

We will also use various materials like gallium arsenide to make solar panels 40% more efficient compared to the 15% that regular solar panels use. Some energy may be lost in the transition from space to Earth but it won’t be a significant amount. We will be building the solar panels in space which is 20% more effective, so although gallium arsenide can create dangerous byproduct like arsenic we can easily dispose of this in space. Overall, we will getting about 2–3 times as much energy as we would from a regular solar panel that size.

Helping Those In Need:

We are planning to make several receivers in developing communities, mainly in third world countries. We will be able to directly send them energy, and make them able to use electricity, making their lives easier. Also, to install these and maintain them, we can hire people living in poverty to help them.

Transportation:

Reusable Rockets:

Reusable rockets are a new type of rockets that can be reused. This will reduce the cost in the long term as we won’t have to continue building new parts for rockets. According to Elon Musk, reusable rockets will allow for resources to be used more efficiently (using resources to build a rocket on another advancement).

Space Tethers:

A space tether will cost a lot to build, and I mean a lot (approximately $6 billion!). However, a space tether would also save a lot in the long term. It would make sure that satellites, orbiters, and rockets won’t have to fly as far taking away the need for large amounts of fuel, if something did need a lot of fuel it could preserve a lot by using a space tether. Essentially, here is how a space tether would work, a long cable (typically made of tiny strands of powerful materials like Kevlar) would be in space, any object at the end of the cable would gain a significant amount of momentum.

Spin launch:

Spin launch is a startup that uses a type of acceleration that “spins”. It uses angular momentum to accelerate something with extreme speed. Spin launching will use rockets to gain the angular momentum. It costs a lot less, and can be reused.

Transmitting & Receiving Energy:

Microwave Emitter:

A microwave emitter will be onboard the orbiter, and it will be powered by the solar energy collected. Since the microwave emitter is using a little bit of solar energy some energy is lost.

Microwave Antenna:

A microwave antenna will be used to receive the energy sent by the microwave emitter. Without a microwave antenna we wouldn’t be able to take in the energy sent. Some energy is lost when received from space, but it is minimal, and will still amount to more then what we normally have.

Battery:

We will use a large battery to store the solar energy collected. This energy can be later dispersed when needed. We will use this energy to both power the rocket at the beginning and later, transmit that energy to Earth.

Effective Solar Panels:

Gallium Arsenide:

We will use gallium arsenide to make the solar panels take in more energy. Gallium arsenide can make solar panels 40% more efficient, this is a large amount compared to the measly 15% that normal solar panels can take in. This combined with the solar panels being in space will allow the solar panels to take in a significant amount of energy. However, gallium arsenide can create dangerous byproduct. Luckily, since we are building the solar panels in space, they can be disposed of easily.

Funding:

How Much Does This Cost:

In order to make and deploy our technology, we will need to pay a lot of money. Estimating that our orbiter will be a 50 x 50 x 10 km rectangular prism, with no inner mechanisms of deployment, and the 2 biggest surfaces are covered in solar panels, we would need 500 square kilometers of solar panels, which costs an average 10 million dollars. Also, we discussed using tethers to launch our space craft. However, it would be more cost effective to connect it to the body of a reusable rocket, which will detach, and the head of the rocket which will steer it towards the sun. Additionally, we could make the rocket solar powered, by collecting energy from the solar panels that it has collected for probably months prior. If we use a model similar to the Falcon 9, and without the fuel, that would be an additional 38 million dollars (the fuel is the most expensive part). It also costs another 6 million dollars for the cooling unit to be attached. We may also need another 30 million for installation of ground stations and paying our employees. This leaves us with a total of about 84 million dollars. Here are some possible ways to get that money.

How Can We Get This Money:

If we pitch our ideas to CSA, they may give us about 30 million dollars. The rest of the money will be gotten through different means. We can probably get up to 1 million in loans, which we should be able to pay back if our idea works. We can also get money from bootstrapping and public funding like GoFundMe, which together will give us about 5 million more dollars. Another 10 million dollars might be achieved from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, because we are planning on setting up some ground stations in developing countries, and giving clean energy to those in poverty, so they will give us grants. This gives us 46 million dollars, and the remaining 38 million that we are still missing could be acquired by more public funding, which will be easier to get if we hire people who are in poverty to help us, and then we can help them. We will also try to get some money from the Canadian government, if we are trying to solve poverty and work on number one of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Impact:

The impact Helios will have on the world is significant. Rather than using fossil fuels to get our energy we will use solar energy which is sustainable, therefore it is better for the environment. This will reduce carbon emissions by a considerable amount. Also, we will be able to help those in need get energy to support themselves. This will help the economy, and reduce poverty by a significant margin, and make the world better for those who are in difficult situations. Helios will be able to change the world, for the better.