en.Wedoany.com Reported - Italian startup ORiS has raised €5 million (approximately $5.7 million) to develop laser-based wireless power beaming technology for satellites.

The Turin-based company announced the completion of a pre-seed funding round on July 21. The round was led by Earlybird, with co-lead Pitchdrive, and participation from Galaxia, Vento, and Piemonte Next Fund, raising a total of €4.5 million. Additionally, ORiS received €500,000 in grants from a regional startup program in Italy.

ORiS is developing technology that uses lasers to transmit power to satellites. The company has already tested this technology on the ground, transmitting power to a drone hovering 100 meters from the transmitter.

In space, a laser-equipped spacecraft would transmit power to another spacecraft, which could receive it using its existing solar panels without modification.

"We studied a system that combines multiple lasers, making it compatible with existing satellites and various types of solar panels," said Andrea Villa, co-founder and CEO of ORiS, in an interview.

The funding will support the 15-person company in conducting space-based technology tests next year. In a mission scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, ORiS will collaborate with Dcubed to demonstrate laser power transmission over a distance of 10 meters. Villa stated that the company plans a second demonstration mission next year with an undisclosed partner.

"With these two launches, we will demonstrate the basic modules," he said. "Then we will conduct a third mission with one of our first customers, aiming to showcase the viability of the service." He declined to identify the customer, only noting that the customer operates satellites to host payloads for other clients.

Wireless power beaming has attracted industry attention as a way to provide satellites with more power, enabling them to operate with smaller solar arrays and batteries. Star Catcher Industries, a Florida-based company focused on power beaming technology, completed a $65 million Series A funding round in May.

The U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) recently issued a request for information on commercial power beaming technology, aiming to achieve operational capability for military applications by the end of this decade.

Villa noted significant differences between ORiS's and Star Catcher's approaches. ORiS plans to use lasers to transmit power, while Star Catcher focuses sunlight onto customer satellites' solar panels.

"With lasers, the system can be much more compact, without needing huge lenses like Star Catcher," he said. "But launching those lenses and mirrors they use could be cheaper than a laser system. It's always a trade-off."

He believes the greater difference lies in market positioning. Star Catcher focuses on its technology for orbital data centers, while ORiS concentrates on supporting a larger number of small spacecraft through a network of dozens to hundreds of satellites.

"Both approaches are very valuable, just starting from different points," he concluded.

Ground tests using lasers to power drones have become a separate business for the company. This ground-based system, called LOONA, has received support from NATO's Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) program.

"We initially saw this concept as a step to demonstrate technical feasibility," he said of these tests. "In the end, we received significant interest from institutions and private entities."

"Currently, we hope to continue this business line and enter the market by the end of this year," he said. "We don't want to miss this opportunity."

The ground business has also proven attractive to investors. "ORiS's dual-use roadmap combines near-term validation with a long-term ambitious vision," said Koen Christiaens, Managing Partner at Pitchdrive, in a statement. "LOONA provides the company with a faster path to validate its core wireless power technology and build commercial momentum, while supporting its broader vision of making energy more accessible in space."

ORiS also plans to apply its laser power beaming technology on the Moon to support exploration missions there. Such systems could help missions address challenges like the 14-day lunar night, during which solar power is unavailable.

"This is very far in the future, but highly synergistic with what we are building," Villa said. "So it's a seed we are planting today, hoping to see some development in the future."