Solestial banks $17 million and welcomes new CEO
Summary
SAN FRANCISCO Solar energy startup Solestial raised $17 million in Series A funding to expand manufacturing of silicon photovoltaics for space applications.The Tempe, Arizona startup also announced May 15 that its campaign to scale up production to 1 megawatt annually will be led by new CEO Margo de Naray, former Astra senior vice president and general manager of space products and services.De Naray joined Solestial because she saw strong product-market fit.Solestials technology relies on silicon rather than gallium or rare-earth elements, reducing supply chain issues. In addition, Solestial photovoltaics are designed to anneal (or cure) solar cell radiation damage. And they require no cover glass, which improves flexibility and reduces mass, De Naray told SpaceNews.Solestial photovoltaics have been delivered to dozens of customers and flown on five satellites. The company will begin producing solar cells for multi-kilowatt satellite programs in the second half of the year, De Naray said.AE Ventures led Solestials investment round. This transition allows me to continue developing our cutting-edge technology, while Margo brings additional strategic leadership and operational experience to deliver at scale.Prior to Astra, De Naray was a Cargill managing director and an Intel operations manager.