The idea of ​​​​this engineer to generate solar energy at night is to put mirrors in orbit pointing towards Earth

We live in a world where we are trying to leave behind our dependence on fossil fuels. The Photovoltaic Solar Energy It is presented as one of the most promising alternatives to help us achieve this goal. However, current technological resources do not prevent you from making the most of it.

On the path to sustainability, we’ve built everything from the world’s largest solar farm to mounting panels in our own homes. The problem? The performance of solar panels is affected by the attenuation of solar radiation and for the night phases. What if we could use solar energy all day?

According to ViceBen Nowack, a 26-year-old mechanical engineer, relies on a particular solution: mounting mirrors on satellites to redirect sunlight captured in Earth’s orbit towards dark areas of the planet, that is, where solar parks are inactive at night. However, his solution is very different from household mirrors.

A mirror mounted to a satellite (sort of)

If a traditional mirror were used, the illuminated diameter on earth would be enormous. Nowack wanted to find a way to redirect a beam of light to very precise points on the planet. The only way to achieve it, according to the young engineer, is with a optical collimator. This is a device that can narrow a beam and direct it in a specific direction.

In 2005 someone had come up with a similar solution by mounting the collimator on a giant space telescope. But putting such a complex device into orbit is incredibly complex and expensive. The solution, at least on paper, is to create a network of conical mirrors made up of thousands of mosaics and scalable to several kilometers in diameter.

Nowack believes he has resolved many of the challenges of this idea, but he still has many hurdles to overcome. The first is test these mosaics on the International Space Station to make sure the layout is correct. The next is to test this technology on a specifically designed satellite to see if it is functional on a real scale.

If all goes according to plan, this young engineer, who is currently the CEO of his own company called CEO of Tons of Mirrors, believes that in the future they could orbit constellations of satellites with mirrors capable of redirecting light towards solar farms. This, as we mentioned above, would allow them to generate electricity at any time of the day.

We have to wait to find out what will happen to the project, which needs financing of 5 million dollars to take the first step. If it is set to prosper, it remains to be seen what position astronomers will take. These have already expressed their dissatisfaction with the brightness of Starlink satellites, which has forced the company to introduce some changes in the next generation of these devices.

Nowack has shown a great interest in science and technology. When he was 14 years old he built an underwater ROV and later a small nuclear reactor. After graduating from college, he was part of the SpaceX team tasked with making sure the Dragon 2 capsule was safe for astronauts.

Pictures | Ben Nowak (Youtube)