Founders’ Stories – Martin Soltau

Giving our everything to make Space Solar the next Big Thing – to benefit life on Earth.

We’re entering completely new territory with Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP). Clean, reliable, scalable, affordable – just about everything you could want from an energy source to help build a more secure, sustainable world. It’s hugely ambitious, and not without its risks, but turning their idea of commercial SBSP into a reality was an opportunity our founders couldn’t ignore. 

In this Founders’ Stories series, we’re riding shotgun with the exec team to see how they’re steering Space Solar headfirst into an energy revolution of their own making. Take it away Martin Soltau, Co-Founder and Co-CEO.

As Co-CEO of Space Solar alongside the esteemed Sam Adlen, our mission is clear; develop and commercialise SBSP to achieve energy security globally. At the moment, we’re in the building and development stage, which means we’re doing a bit of everything (as the title says!) to make Space Solar the next Big Thing. Ultimately though, we’re focused on setting the strategy and laying the foundations for our pioneering solution to achieving Net Zero. 

Space solar power is already in motion – will you join us?

Sam and I didn’t just want to just promote SBSP but to lead its development to make a real difference. Relying principally on our current intermittent technologies, there are a host of reasons why Net Zero is an illusion. We need to innovate much more capable energy solutions and to do this at pace – an agile, commercially-led SBSP programme, for example! 

Working in partnership with the government, alongside support from other private and public sector stakeholders, we’re implementing this programme at speed. Following the successful demonstration of our leading solar power satellite design, we will deliver wireless power transmission on Earth in 2 years, a first commercial space power station in 6 years, mainstream power in 9 years and a first GigaWatt (GW) scale system in 12 years. In time, SBSP could meet 20% of the world’s future electricity needs – a trillion dollar market.

The combination of pressing societal need for reliable clean energy, and the seismic advances in the underlying technologies, most importantly, low cost reusable launch, mean that SBSP is now economically and technically viable, and there is a societal imperative to get on and realise its benefits.  Nevertheless this is ambitious and there’s still some scepticism about whether SBSP can be realised so rapidly.   We welcome constructive challenge and we’re putting in the work to change that perception, engaging with those individuals to explain why our programme is deliverable. 

SBSP will be a reality, and it’s going to be operational within the next few years – so we must bring people with us! That’s why we’ve been doing a lot of public outreach through the media, presentations and press – because in many cases, once people understand how the tech and economics work, and how safety is assured, they become really supportive. It’s all about engaging with the public to build understanding and acceptance, and ensure they have a voice on a technology that will help to power civilisation.

So far, we’ve garnered really strong support for SBSP right across the very top of government, including the Secretary of State and key ministers. It just aligns so well with government priorities in Net Zero, Energy security, economic growth and manufacturing jobs across the regions. The civil servants are strongly supportive and work in a really united way across Energy, Science, International Trade departments and the UK Space Agency.   

All it takes is a little passion, curiosity and integrity 

I’ve always been fascinated by aviation since I was a small boy. I used to build model aeroplanes, and then got into flying, gaining my private pilot’s licence as soon as I could at the age of 17 or 18. So, going into the aerospace sector was an obvious, natural choice. 

I’ve had a variety of roles, led some fascinating programs, working in both military and civil aerospace to develop equipment and systems. Later on, I led major £100M + programmes for Smiths Aerospace, and then took on the role to develop an aerospace business for Frazer-Nash Consultancy. This is where my curiosity about space based solar power was piqued. 

About five years ago I had a conversation with an old friend of mine, Richard Varvill, a pioneering rocket engineer who is developing an air-breathing rocket engine for a single-stage orbit space plane. We got onto the subject of SBSP as a key market for his space plane and its huge potential. After some research, I realised that SBSP was more advanced in both technical and economic viability than I had imagined. Combining this with the challenges we’re facing for Net Zero, I felt confident approaching the Energy department with a suggestion; to commission a techno-economic study and explore this technology as part of the solution.

I ended up directing an eight-month study looking at the techno-economics of SBSP. The government wanted to know: is it technically viable? Is it economically affordable and viable? Could it be developed in time to make a difference to Net Zero? And what would the economic benefits be for the UK? The answers to all those four were really positive.  

Sam Adlen was Chief Strategy Officer for the Satellite Applications Catapult and had been exploring space energy from a slightly different perspective. We set up the Space Energy Initiative (SEI), a coalition of 90+ organisations bringing together the energy and space sectors, to raise awareness and support across government, industry and academia, and to start building a supportive ecosystem. Experts from multiple disciplines have developed the thinking and planning in key areas, including international partnerships, regulations, environmental impact and communications. 

Having proven industrial interest in the capability and future returns of SBSP for the UK, it soon became clear that someone needed to take the lead on this whole thing. With the blessing of the SEI advisory board, Sam and I started building Space Solar. 

It takes a strong team, to make the dream.

Our main focus in the early stages of the business was to find and bring the right people along with us, to make sure we had the best chance of success.

We put a lot of thought into what kind of team and culture we wanted to build at Space Solar, looking at the vision, values and culture of the company – which we now have up on the office door. For us it‘s about supporting each other, having high ambition, not being afraid to take risks, innovating and always over communicating. 

It takes a lot of planning and coordinating to build a high-performing team; we made sure priorities are set, resourcing was in place and commercial agreements made with partners. And then we worked on creating a team culture and spirit that embodies creative innovation. 

Including Ian Cash, with his leading solar power satellite technology and know-how, we’ve now got a fantastic team who’ve built future energy systems, led major spacecraft developments and significantly advanced our understanding of this sector. Everyone is incredibly capable, aligned to the mission, and eager to make this goal a reality – it’s their blend of skills and creative innovation that will make Space Solar a success.

Steering the Space Solar ship with Sam

This is a huge disruptive and complex venture, with multiple stakeholders, disciplines and challenges. Sam and I share the leadership in a Co-CEO model which works incredibly well, especially when the job is so large and demanding.   You couldn’t want for a better colleague, Co-CEO and strategic partner; I’ve learnt so much from Sam and I think we compliment each other exceptionally well. Being a sole CEO is a very lonely thing, but Sam and I have the opportunity to bounce ideas off each other every day. We’re trying to change the whole energy ecosystem, so having that shared vision and decision-making process is fantastic. 

We have a very clear delineation of who does what, so that the team aren’t confused by who’s calling the shots. My part of the ship is to lead the technology, programme and business development side of things, and Sam leads on investment, strategy and people.  But in reality, we work so well together that we consult on all the main decisions. We’re both deeply involved in raising finance and working with governments and other agencies to build the profile and aim higher. It’s been brilliant diving into the finance world – pitching to investors, understanding how that whole community works and meeting some insanely driven and bright people.  

I’m definitely a huge believer in Co-CEO roles – it requires a fantastic amount of trust and real synergy with your partner, but it works so incredibly well in many circumstances. 

Looking ahead, we’re excited to bring huge benefits to life on Earth…

Seeing SBSP scaled out and commissioned as a fully operational system, improving the lives of people with clean affordable energy in developing nations would be the ultimate success for me. Of course, there are other successes along the way and it’s important to enjoy the journey because this project is so ambitious. In six years time we can be powering data centres, mining operations, polar research stations, maritime and more!

I was recently asked to give some wise words to those looking to join the industry. I don’t know about wise, but I’d say follow your passion and do what you’re really excited about. My son has just finished his third year at Southampton in Astronautics, and he’s actually doing his final project on SBSP – so I guess you could say passion is contagious! 

This is just the ultimate technology sector to get involved with, so whatever your background or experience or professional training, there’s something here for you. 

It’s such an exciting time for Space Based Solar Power – we’re not only generating responsible, sustainable energy for people on Earth, but we’re also generating the energy to power further enterprise and innovation in space too. We’d love for you to get involved. 

Talk to us! We’re on a mission to transform the energy sector.