ORiS raises €5 million for laser-based power systems in orbit

ORiS, a Turin-based deeptech startup, has raised €5 million to develop laser-based wireless power transmission for space and dual-use markets. The financing includes a €4.5 million pre-seed round and a €0.5 million regional grant, giving the company capital to push from lab validation toward flight hardware and commercial drone applications.

The pre-seed was led by Earlybird and co-led by Pitchdrive, with participation from Galaxia, Vento and Piemonte Next Fund. ORiS also received the €0.5 million grant through the Piedmont Region’s Consolidamento patrimoniale e crescita delle start up innovative programme. The company did not disclose its valuation, revenue, customer count or headcount.

ORiS was founded by Politecnico di Torino engineers Andrea Villa, Anna Mauro, Domenico Edoardo Sfasciamuro and Francesco Lopez. Villa is CEO, Mauro is CTO, Sfasciamuro is CCO and Lopez is COO.

Power as satellite infrastructure

The company is building what it describes as an in-orbit energy distribution grid, using lasers to deliver power wirelessly to satellites. ORiS says the system is intended to give spacecraft additional energy while already in orbit, rather than requiring all power needs to be solved at launch through onboard generation and storage.

The pitch is tied to rising power demand from satellites as payloads become more capable. According to ORiS, external power delivery could allow existing satellites to keep payloads available for longer, support operations during eclipse periods and extend missions as solar panels degrade. For future spacecraft, the company says on-demand orbital energy could affect how electrical power systems are sized and how missions are planned.

Villa said ORiS wants to make energy in orbit a commodity, available when needed, and framed the approach as a way to improve satellite performance and profitability. That is still a long-term infrastructure claim. The company has not announced a deployed orbital system or commercial satellite customer in the information released.

Drone charging as early validation

ORiS is also testing the same underlying technology through LOONA, a drone charging platform developed within NATO DIANA’s accelerator programme. The company says it has already demonstrated wireless power transfer to a hovering drone at distances greater than 100 metres.

That drone work gives ORiS a nearer-term dual-use path while the harder satellite-to-satellite power transmission plan develops. The company said the new funding will help move LOONA from prototype toward a commercial dual-use product.

ORiS is also assessing lunar use cases, including wireless power delivery for surface assets such as rovers. It has completed a feasibility study on that concept for Thales Alenia Space.

The proceeds will fund engineering team expansion, research and development on critical subsystems, new laboratory and clean-room facilities, and development of a flight model for a future satellite-to-satellite wireless power transmission mission. The round places ORiS in a narrow category of space infrastructure startups trying to sell enabling systems rather than spacecraft, payloads or launch capacity.

This story draws on original reporting from Tech.eu.