IT Home On November 11, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the world’s richest man, issued a statement today (November 11) announcing a major supply contract with German solar cell equipment manufacturer SINGULUS. They will introduce a complete HJT solar cell production line, thereby accelerating the manufacturing of Starmind satellites.
IT Home note: HJT stands for Heterojunction Technology. It is a power generation technology that combines crystal silicon with ultra-thin amorphous silicon films. This allows solar cells to minimize energy loss and conduct current more efficiently after absorbing sunlight.
“Heterostructure” refers to semiconductor materials with different structures. In common HJT batteries, there is an N-type crystalline silicon at the center, covered on both sides by very thin amorphous silicon layers, and on the outside by a transparent conductive film and metal electrodes. Although both crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon contain silicon, their atomic arrangements are different, allowing the formation of a “heterostructure”.
And Starmind is a space artificial intelligence computing satellite project being advanced by SpaceX. The satellite is powered by solar energy, performs computing tasks in space, and transmits the results back to Earth via a laser link and Starlink network. Its first publicly disclosed design is called AI1.
According to a statement released by SINGULUS yesterday, this cooperation is not about purchasing ready-made solar cells, but mainly about manufacturing the equipment and processes for producing batteries. SINGULUS will develop high-performance solar cells and supporting production equipment based on technologies that have been scaled up for application. Processes such as wet chemical treatment, vacuum coating, and heat treatment will be used in production. The first production line is planned to be delivered in the first half of 2027, and both parties also plan to add several more production lines.
SpaceX Starlink Vice President of Advanced Affairs Mike Nichols said that this partnership will provide a manufacturing path for the solar cells needed to produce Starmind satellites at the Texas factory, and through both parties’ manufacturing expertise and long-term investment, a sustainable supply solution will be established to expand production. Both parties stated that as satellite manufacturing accelerates, related production will gradually increase, to support a production capacity of over 100 gigawatts (GW).
IT Home note: 100 gigawatts is equal to 100 million kilowatts. This refers to the production scale corresponding to solar cell manufacturing equipment, and not the “power stations” that SpaceX builds in space. In terms of power scale alone, it is approximately equivalent to the total installed capacity of 4.4 Three Gorges Power Stations (the total installed capacity of the Three Gorges project is 22.5 million kilowatts).