The Nato alliance has invested $1.1bn (£870m ) in a British start-up, which is planning to launch robot factories into the space.
Cardiff’s Space Forge is looking to launch satellites and take advantage of the low gravity conditions to create crystals that can be used to produce cutting-edge microchips and new alloys and medicines.
After completing their mission, the satellites will return to Earth with a “Mary Poppins”-style umbrella.
Nato cited this as a prime example for “dual-use technologies” the alliance is cultivating to keep an edge over Russia and China .
Space Forge uses the vacuum and low gravity of space to grow crystals. These “seeds” can then be used to make tens or hundreds of millions of microchips, which are more efficient and run faster on Earth.
This opens up the possibility of a 50% improvement in radar range, and satellites 30pc-50pc smaller.
Space Forge and Northrop Grumman, a major American defence company, have already formed a partnership to develop chips for more powerful radar systems.
Josh Western, chief executive of the startup, said: “We tell people that the next industrial Revolution will not be on Earth. It will be in space.”
It’s an important chemistry breakthrough.”
Space Forge will test the new landing technology within the next year to show regulators it works. This is likely to be done by sending a satellite up in a SpaceX launch at Cape Canaveral.
The mission will be followed by another to show that crystals made in space can be returned safely to Earth.
The Nato Innovation Fund has provided funding to build the Forgestar 2 Platform, which will be used for the second test.
Space Forge lost last year a satellite that was supposed to be launched in space by Virgin Orbit’s “Start Me Up”, which failed.
The Nato Innovation Fund announced the four first businesses that it will be supporting.
The fund was announced by the member states in 2022, following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. They were tasked with nurturing “nascent technology that has the potential to transform our security for decades to come.”
Three of the four companies in which the fund has confirmed investment are British.
Space Forge is joined by the Bristol-based carbon fiber specialist iCOMAT and London-based chip designer, Fractile, as well as ARX Robotics from Germany, which manufactures unmanned ground vehicles.
Andrea Traversone is the managing partner of the fund. She said, “Our mandate as managing partners is to support disruptive technologies that will support defence, security, and resilience within the alliance. These four companies are good examples.”
The 24 nations that are our members, and who have invested in these companies, is the most important thing for us to do.
He said that the fund is in talks with hundreds of start-ups to discuss potential investments. More deals are expected in the months ahead.
The fund has a 15-year investment horizon, but it does not reveal the size of its portfolio.
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