According to EnergyTrend, SoleFiori announced on June 1 that it recently inked a strategic cooperation agreement with Xiamen Changelight for deep collaboration on HJT space solar cells.
A frontrunner in space photovoltaic industry, Changelight owns nearly 20 years of on-orbit experience and technical accumulation. Its gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar cell epitaxial wafers have been mass applied to commercial satellites including the G60 Qianfan Constellation and gained overseas order revenues.
This strategic cooperation marks SoleFiori’s critical upgrade from a terrestrial energy service provider to a pioneer in space energy. With Changelight’s two decades of on-orbit expertise and GaAs epitaxy technology, SoleFiori can rapidly access the high-value space energy market and extend its business from ground PV manufacturing to R&D of aerospace-grade products.
From industrial perspective, traditional aerospace GaAs cells feature extremely high cost at roughly hundreds of US dollars per watt. Built on mature terrestrial silicon production lines, HJT bottom cells cost merely one-tenths to one-fiftieth of GaAs counterparts. Even after incorporating costs of aerospace packaging and qualification tests, HJT bottom cells retain prominent cost edges.
Thanks to high technical barriers and resource scarcity, the products are able to obtain remarkable technology premiums in the early supply phase. In the medium and long run, new applications such as computing satellites and space power stations will further expand market space.
SoleFiori also mentioned the HJT+GaAs tandem cell technology is transitioning from lab verification to pilot trial stage.
Project schedule:
- 2024–2025: Laboratory verification
- 2026–2027: Engineering sample development
- 2028–2029: On-orbit verification
- Post-2030: Large-scale commercialization
As of 2026, the joint R&D has kicked off with accelerated laboratory research.
Source：EnergyTrend
