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SpaceX Partners with SINGULUS to Develop 100 GW Solar Manufacturing Capacity for Starmind

11 November 2026 3 min read هدهد تك | Hudhud Tech

SpaceX has signed a supply deal worth over $69 million with German equipment manufacturer SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES to create a production line for high-efficiency heterojunction (HJT) solar cells. This initiative is part of the company’s plans for its Starmind satellite network.

The first turnkey production line is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2027. This agreement is part of a broader strategic partnership, where SINGULUS will provide multiple additional production lines as SpaceX ramps up satellite manufacturing at its facility in Bastrop, Texas.

SINGULUS announced the contract on November 10, highlighting that the partnership will focus on developing high-performance solar cells and the necessary manufacturing equipment. The company indicated that production could scale to support over 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar equipment, although the output capacity of the initial line remains unspecified.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, clarified the scale of the order in a post on X, stating that the company had ordered 100 GW per year of HJT solar manufacturing equipment from SINGULUS. He associated this order with the Starmind project, describing its goal as creating a “sentient sun.”

Mike Nicolls, SpaceX’s Senior Vice President of Starlink, noted that this partnership provides a manufacturing pathway for solar cells intended for the Starmind satellites.

Building Cells In-House

The HJT technology integrates a crystalline silicon wafer with thin layers of amorphous silicon, which helps minimize electrical charge loss at the wafer’s surfaces, enhancing the cell’s efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity.

Manufacturing these cells involves several processes, including wafer cleaning, thin-film deposition, and thermal treatment. SINGULUS specializes in developing equipment for these stages, utilizing wet-chemical processing alongside vacuum coating technologies like physical vapor deposition (PVD) and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD).

SpaceX has ordered 100 GW/year of HJT solar manufacturing equipment from Singulus in Germany.

This is for Starmind to create a sentient sun. https://t.co/umtNyF9M7g

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2026

SINGULUS’s production platforms are designed for high-throughput solar cell manufacturing. The company asserts that its equipment supports HJT and other crystalline silicon cell technologies, including TOPCon and interdigitated back-contact designs.

This agreement allows SpaceX to leverage SINGULUS’s manufacturing expertise while establishing a route to produce solar cells at its Texas facility. However, neither company has disclosed the anticipated efficiency of the cells or the production capacity of the initial line.

Powering Orbital Computing

SpaceX’s Starmind program focuses on satellites equipped with computing payloads that utilize solar energy generated in orbit. The specifications for the AI1 satellite indicate a deployed height of 30 meters, a wingspan of 75 meters, and a computing payload that can draw up to 250 kilowatts at peak and 175 kilowatts on average.

The satellites are designed to operate in sun-synchronous orbit and will transmit data to the ground via laser links connected to the Starlink network, according to SpaceX.

The scale of the planned Starmind network is significant. In its 2026 securities filing, SpaceX outlined an ambition to deploy up to 100 GW of power to orbit annually. Achieving this goal would necessitate thousands of launches each year, although the company noted that it could establish a commercially viable business at lower deployment rates.

SINGULUS reported that its strategic partnership with SpaceX began in March 2026, with SpaceX providing substantial funding to the German company through a subordinated secured loan in both March and October.

The first production line is anticipated to arrive in the first half of 2027, as SpaceX prepares to enhance its satellite manufacturing capabilities in Texas.