Virtus Solis

The SpaceInfo Club had the pleasure to ask John Bucknell, CEO of Virtus Solis, some questions about what they are doing to bring a cleaner and cheaper energy here on Earth, from Space. This presentation is just a preview of what you'll see inside the next editoins of the SpaceInfo Magazine, so make sure to join the club!

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind starting Virtus Solis Technologies and the mission of your company?

Virtus Solis's mission is to solve energy for everyone for ever.  Energy underlies everything in modern society, with those of us in the West averaging 9kW total energy and the worldwide average at 1.8kW - implying that most of the world is in energy poverty.  Making energy cost low enough to allow scale up the supply to offer affordable energy to the levels the rich West enjoys is an admirable goal.  Space Based Solar Power promises to do that if the right solution is brought to market and my team has the right mix of backgrounds to deploy that solution. 

Virtus Solis Technologies appears to focus on solar energy solutions. What innovative technologies or approaches does your company bring to the renewable energy sector?

Renewable energy (outside of Nuclear) is inherently intermittent due to the day/night cycle.  Seasonal effects like clouds, especially at high latitudes means that renewable availability in winter is near zero for 2-3 months.  Firming that energy is costly, overwhelming the low cost of generation with excess costs to distribute and store that clean energy.  Space Based Solar Power (SBSP) sidesteps those challenges by sourcing the solar power above the atmosphere out of the Earth's shadow.  Virtus Solis has solved the wireless power connection between the solar satellites and ground stations with a high efficiency solution, as well as the cost engineering the architecture to drive system costs down.

How do you envision the role of solar energy in the global transition to sustainable and clean energy sources?

Among alternatives, SBSP and Fission are the only available clean, firm energy technologies.  We at Virtus Solis believe if costs can be low enough, clean energy can supplant all uses of fossil fuels on cost alone.  Ideally SBSP can grow to supply all energy globally, forever.

Can you share some specific projects or initiatives that Virtus Solis Technologies is currently working on in the field?

We are developing the first pilot plant to be deployed at the end of 2026.

This was just a preview of the whole article that will be published inside the SpaceInfo Magazine. All you have to do to read it is loggin in or registering to the SpaceInfo Club. It's Free!