Business · Companies · 7 hrs ago
SpaceX orders solar-cell production line for planned Starmind satellites
SpaceX has ordered solar-cell manufacturing equipment from Germany’s SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES for its planned Starmind satellite network.
The first production line is worth more than €60 million and is scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2027.
The line will make high-efficiency solar cells for satellites designed to run computing equipment using power collected in orbit.
SINGULUS and SpaceX began their partnership in March 2026, and the agreement includes plans for additional production lines.
SpaceX says the wider equipment order totals 100 gigawatts per year, though the companies have not disclosed the first line’s capacity.
The deal has boosted interest in SINGULUS: its shares rose by about 65% at one point on Wednesday.
The next step is delivering the first line, while the companies have not said when satellite production or the wider solar-cell manufacturing expansion will reach its planned scale.
SpaceX has ordered a solar-cell production line from German equipment maker SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES for its planned Starmind satellite network.
The first turnkey line is worth more than €60 million and is scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2027.
The cells are designed to provide power for computing payloads on satellites operating in orbit.
SINGULUS says the partnership includes developing solar cells and manufacturing equipment, with additional production lines planned.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the order covers equipment for 100 gigawatts of HJT solar manufacturing per year.
- Who
- SpaceX and German equipment maker SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES.
- What
- SpaceX ordered equipment for a production line for high-efficiency HJT solar cells. The cells are intended for its planned Starmind satellites.
- When
- SINGULUS disclosed the contract on November 10, 2026. The first line is due in the first half of 2027.
- Where
- SINGULUS is based in Kahl am Main, Germany, and the planned production facility is in Bastrop, Texas.
- Why
- The solar cells are intended to power computing payloads on Starmind satellites using energy generated in orbit.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
SINGULUS said its strategic partnership with SpaceX began.
SINGULUS disclosed the contract for the first production line.
Elon Musk said SpaceX had ordered equipment for 100 gigawatts per year of HJT solar manufacturing.
SINGULUS shares rose by around 65 percent at one point during trading.
The first turnkey production line is scheduled for delivery.
- First production line
- Worth more than €60 million
- Delivery schedule
- First half of 2027
- Solar technology
- Heterojunction (HJT)
- Musk's stated order scale
- 100 gigawatts per year of manufacturing equipment
- Planned production site
- Bastrop, Texas
- SINGULUS 2025 revenue
- €48.3 million
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What people are saying
SpaceX has ordered 100 GW/year of HJT solar manufacturing equipment from Singulus in Germany. This is for Starmind to create a sentient sun.
The strategic partnership with SpaceX enables us to further industrialize these capabilities on a significant scale and strengthen our position as a leading Western provider of next-generation solar cell technology.
Our unique platform approach, which combines wet chemistry, vacuum coating and thermal processes, represents a significant unique selling point in the market.