Dutch ESA Business Incubation Centre start-up company Lens Research & Development has been awarded the title of Most Innovative Company in the Netherlands as the winner of the first Shell LiveWire Rising Star competition.
Supported at ESA's incubator in Noordwijk during the company's start-up phase, entrepreneur Johan Leijtens developed a low-cost, durable Sun sensor drawing on satellite technology and turned it into a business.
The new sensor is particularly suited to concentrated photovoltaic systems but the technologies and production used to obtain a significant cost reduction also show potential for future space missions.
Sun sensors on satellites are used for navigation as well as positioning the solar panels for best power generation. As low-orbit satellites circle Earth typically 15 times a day, dipping in and out of our planet’s shadow exposes them to temperature cycles of –40ºC to +80ºC. Special technology protects these sensors against the frequent and extreme temperature variations over many years.
After working with the Dutch TNO organisation for applied scientific research for years on Sun sensors for satellites, Johan spotted a terrestrial application where this technology would be in particular useful: concentrated photovoltaic systems, which use lenses or curved mirrors to focus sunlight onto small, efficient multijunction solar cells.
Using space-qualified Sun sensors is too expensive for terrestrial use and the durability of conventional sensors has been a problem – they cannot handle the temperature changes from night to day for the required 25 years and often last only a few years.
By adapting the space technology and combining it with an automatic production set-up using automatic milling tools and ‘pick and place’ machinery, Johan is producing a new kind of low-cost, long-lasting Sun sensor specifically for terrestrial systems.
“Hosted at ESA’s Business Incubator Centre in Noordwijk and thanks to the support from ESA engineers and access to ESA’s nearby laboratories, we developed our Sun sensor relatively quickly,” Johan said.
“With the technology from space, the use of automated manufacturing techniques and microelectromechanical technology, we have developed a new type of Sun sensor that is more reliable and cheaper than other high-reliability sensors currently on the market.”
Lens R&D's Sun sensor is 4x4 cm with a height of 2.5 cm and weight of 40 g. The company is now also working with Fraunhofer Institute in Germany on further validation.
Based on the technologies developed for the terrestrial Sun sensor, Lens R&D has also developed a space-grade version that is even smaller: 4x4x1 cm and 22 g.
“This sensor is now almost qualified for space applications and has also turned out to be a good solution on satellites,” Johan added.
“We already have a contract with Luxspace to provide sensors for the first Esail satellite.”
Recently, the company had contract negotiations with ESA to develop an extended-temperature version.
Niels Eldering from ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme Office, added, “This is a good example on how technology transfer can innovate and lead to better products. Spin-off from space to terrestrial applications has been followed in this case by spin-in back to space”.
LiveWire Rising Star is an innovation award from Shell LiveWIRE and the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.
The new sensor is particularly suited to concentrated photovoltaic systems but the technologies and production used to obtain a significant cost reduction also show potential for future space missions.
Sun sensors on satellites are used for navigation as well as positioning the solar panels for best power generation. As low-orbit satellites circle Earth typically 15 times a day, dipping in and out of our planet’s shadow exposes them to temperature cycles of –40ºC to +80ºC. Special technology protects these sensors against the frequent and extreme temperature variations over many years.
After working with the Dutch TNO organisation for applied scientific research for years on Sun sensors for satellites, Johan spotted a terrestrial application where this technology would be in particular useful: concentrated photovoltaic systems, which use lenses or curved mirrors to focus sunlight onto small, efficient multijunction solar cells.
Using space-qualified Sun sensors is too expensive for terrestrial use and the durability of conventional sensors has been a problem – they cannot handle the temperature changes from night to day for the required 25 years and often last only a few years.
By adapting the space technology and combining it with an automatic production set-up using automatic milling tools and ‘pick and place’ machinery, Johan is producing a new kind of low-cost, long-lasting Sun sensor specifically for terrestrial systems.
“Hosted at ESA’s Business Incubator Centre in Noordwijk and thanks to the support from ESA engineers and access to ESA’s nearby laboratories, we developed our Sun sensor relatively quickly,” Johan said.
“With the technology from space, the use of automated manufacturing techniques and microelectromechanical technology, we have developed a new type of Sun sensor that is more reliable and cheaper than other high-reliability sensors currently on the market.”
Lens R&D's Sun sensor is 4x4 cm with a height of 2.5 cm and weight of 40 g. The company is now also working with Fraunhofer Institute in Germany on further validation.
Based on the technologies developed for the terrestrial Sun sensor, Lens R&D has also developed a space-grade version that is even smaller: 4x4x1 cm and 22 g.
“This sensor is now almost qualified for space applications and has also turned out to be a good solution on satellites,” Johan added.
“We already have a contract with Luxspace to provide sensors for the first Esail satellite.”
Recently, the company had contract negotiations with ESA to develop an extended-temperature version.
Niels Eldering from ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme Office, added, “This is a good example on how technology transfer can innovate and lead to better products. Spin-off from space to terrestrial applications has been followed in this case by spin-in back to space”.
LiveWire Rising Star is an innovation award from Shell LiveWIRE and the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.
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