Cando Solar, a pioneer in lightweight solar energy technology, has unveiled its custom-developed rollable crystalline silicon heterojunction (HJT) solar wing solution—the Cando Solar Cloth—at the SATELLITE × GovMilSpace event on March 24 in Washington, D.C. The innovative solution is specifically designed for commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, 6G communications, and space computing power applications.
Cando Solar Cloth marks a pivotal shift from “area efficiency” to “weight efficiency,” unlocking energy abundance in space and enabling power equity on Earth, making scalable, lightweight solar power a reality.
As the global commercial space industry accelerates into an era of high‑frequency launches and satellite constellation deployment, weight and cost have emerged as the primary constraints to large‑scale satellite deployment. Traditional rigid solar arrays are bulky, heavy, and expensive, a struggle to meet the growing demand for low‑cost, high‑frequency launches.
Cando Solar is addressing the industry pain points with rollable HJT solar wing solution developed with advanced design and flexible engineering technologies:
Lightweight design: With a weight-to-area ratio as low as 300–900 g/m² and a rolled diameter of just 65 mm, the Cando Solar Cloth features an ultra‑light, rollable design that significantly reduces launch volume and payload demands. The 1–5 g/W weight‑to‑power ratio supports to achieve overall satellite mass reduction.
Cost efficiency: Compared to traditional GaAs solar cells, the HJT‑based solution delivers 23–35% conversion efficiency (with tandem HJT cells reaching up to 35%), while reducing costs by 90%. By enabling shared production across space and terrestrial applications, such as agriculture, construction, and transportation, it helps cut overall satellite manufacturing costs by up to 30%, removing a key barrier to large‑scale constellation deployment.
High reliability: The exceptional durability of Cando Solar Cloth has been confirmed by electroluminescence (EL) testing after 10.000 roll‑and‑unroll cycles, ensuring stable energy output throughout its in‑orbit service life.
“Our presentation at SATELLITE × GovMilSpace is not only a milestone in showcasing our space energy capabilities but also a critical step in Cando Solar’s global expansion strategy. Moving forward, we will continue to drive the large‑scale application of lightweight solar technologies in space communications and in-orbit computing power, making efficient, cost‑effective clean energy a core enabler for humanity’s journey beyond Earth,” noted Huang Qiang, founder of Cando Solar.
