Qingtian Xingneng, a Chinese developer of flexible copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells for spacecraft, has raised about 100 million yuan (US$14.7 million) in a series A round led by Hangzhou Fengzhen to fund product upgrades, a pilot line, and hiring.

The company said its StarFlex flexible CIGS cell is 27 micrometres thick, weighs less than 1 gram per watt, and has reached 18% mass-production efficiency.

Existing flexible gallium arsenide space cells can exceed 30% efficiency at roughly 30 micrometres thick.

Qingtian Xingneng said the technology has completed nine years of in-orbit verification on low Earth orbit satellites.

The company expects to conduct satellite tests in September 2026 before pursuing batch in-orbit orders from late 2026 into 2027.

The commercialization push comes as China’s two main state-led low Earth orbit broadband constellations alone aim for 27,992 satellites by 2030, which could expand demand for lightweight space power systems.

🔗 Source: Security Times