SpaceX Signs €60 Million Solar Cell Deal With German Tech Firm for AI Satellites
SpaceX has signed a €60 million contract with German engineering company Singulus Technologies to supply solar cells for its planned Starmind satellite project. The deal, announced on Wednesday, November 11, sent Singulus shares temporarily soaring by 65 to 80 per cent, valuing the company at approximately €73 million. Its 2025 annual revenue stood at €48.3 million, highlighting the potential scale of the agreement.
The partnership will focus on supplying next-generation heterojunction solar cells suitable for space applications, with production planned for SpaceX’s satellite manufacturing facility in Texas in early 2027. Both companies are also considering additional facilities and production lines to support a proposed solar production capacity of 100 gigawatts. Singulus said the agreement would help expand its manufacturing capabilities and strengthen its position in advanced solar technology.
The Starmind project aims to deploy satellites equipped with solar wings measuring about 75 metres to function as artificial intelligence data centres in space. The system is designed to harness sunlight to power computing operations and transmit data to Earth through laser links, potentially reducing reliance on energy-intensive terrestrial data centres. However, the technology remains unproven, and Musk’s reported ambition to seek approval for up to one million satellites remains a highly ambitious target.
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