Milan, August 8, 2023 – Italian multinational CESI (Centro Elettrotecnico Sperimentale Italiano) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) have signed a major agreement, worth more than 13 million euros, in support of the Space Factory project. The project represents a strategic asset for Italy, helping to strengthen the skills of the national industrial supply chain in the space sector .
As a result of the signed agreement and the PNRR funds managed by ASI, CESI will be able to increase its production capacity of solar cells for space satellites, introduce digitized production processes and use new monitoring technologies and state-of-the-art machinery. Domenico Villani, CEO of CESI Group, states: “Being a part of the Italian Space Factory gives us such pride, as this project will put our country at the forefront of the space sector and have a significant impact on technology advancement. Our Group is contributing our experience to the design and production of solar cells for space in support of this effort. In orbit today, more than 100 satellites for civilian use are made in more than 25 countries and equipped with solar cells produced by CESI.”
CESI’s solar cells have high efficiency and fully meet the needs of space missions. These cells are composed of materials (gallium arsenide and indium gallium phosphide) that make them particularly suitable for the space environment, which is much more demanding than on Earth. In space, the silicon in ordinary terrestrial solar cells would not hold up adequately. CESI cells are qualified for both low earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites.
CESI is one of the world’s four leading manufacturers of these products and the only one under total European, specifically Italian, control. Its cells are made, under proprietary patent, in its laboratories in Milan.
The goal of the Factory is to become the driving force for future investments through private parties engaged in the creation of satellite constellations and megaconstellations, projecting Italy even further ahead in the exploration of the cosmos.