The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is seeking commercial proposals to demonstrate wireless electrical power transmission between spacecraft and from orbit to the ground within two years. It’s part of an effort to evaluate a capability that could deliver power to on-orbit systems and terrestrial locations.
According to a DIU solicitation, the effort aims to address growing power demands for both space-based and terrestrial missions. DIU said current space power technologies limit the deployment of new capabilities because missions are constrained by size, weight, power, and available energy sources.
The agency said space power beaming could remove those constraints by enabling wireless power delivery across multiple orbital regimes and to locations on Earth. The technology also could reduce the need for logistics infrastructure while supporting military operations in denied environments.
The solicitation envisions a future capability that could transmit power among satellites operating in low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit, geostationary orbit, and beyond, as well as to terrestrial receivers. Potential military applications include edge computing, in-space manufacturing, and power delivery to forward operating locations and unmanned systems.
DIU said it is considering both commercial power as a service models and U.S. government-owned and operated systems.
The near-term effort will focus on a low Earth orbit prototype designed to demonstrate the military utility of the technology before expanding to broader architectures.
The solicitation is divided into four lines of effort:
- Line of effort 1: Complete commercial solutions for transmitting power to space-based receivers
- Line of effort 2: Complete commercial solutions for transmitting power to terrestrial-based receivers
- Line of effort 3: Complete commercial solutions for receiving and converting the power that was transmitted from Line of effort 1 and 2 solutions
- Line of effort 4: Commercial solutions for next-generation power transfer components designed that reduce size, weight, and power requirements and/or improve manufacturability
For the first three lines of effort, selected companies will begin prototype work with milestones leading to a laboratory demonstration within 12 months of contract award. The government will use those results to determine whether technologies are ready for on-orbit demonstrations within 24 months of award.
For the fourth line of effort, the prototype stage will include milestones leading to a lab-based component demonstration within six months of award, which will determine if the solution is ready for integration into awarded solutions for the first three lines of effort.
DIU said the prototype effort is intended to support the development of an operational space power beaming capability by fiscal year 2030.
Responses to the solicitation are due July 22, 2026.