Europe’s space ambitions are growing, but energy remains one of the biggest technical bottlenecks for both long-term lunar missions and high-value defence satellites.
Solar power alone cannot ensure continuous operation in extreme environments, such as the Moon’s 14-day night, or in orbit, where systems face cyber and non-kinetic threats.
Latvian startup Deep Space Energy has closed a €930K pre-seed round to address that challenge.
The round includes €350K in private investment led by Outlast Fund and angel investor Linas Sargautis, alongside €580K in public contracts and grants from European Space Agency (ESA), NATO DIANA, and the Latvian government.
The funding will primarily be used to further develop a novel radioisotopic generator toward commercialisation, in a bid to strengthen the European sovereign space and defence industry and power Moon surface exploration.
Building a new type of radioisotope generator
Founded in 2022, the company is developing a radioisotope-based power generator that converts heat from nuclear self-decay into electricity. The materials used are derived from nuclear waste, and the company states the system is not designed for weapons use.
According to CEO and co-founder Dr. Mihails Ščepanskis, the technology has already been validated in laboratory conditions. He claims the generator requires five times less radioisotope fuel than traditional radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) currently used in space missions.
“Our technology, which has already been validated in the laboratory, has several applications across the defence and space sectors. First, we’re developing an auxiliary energy source to enhance the resilience of strategic satellites. It provides the redundancy of satellite power systems by supplying backup power that does not depend on solar energy, making it crucial for high-value military reconnaissance assets,” Ščepanskis says.
Targeting high-value satellites
One of the company’s near-term applications is as an auxiliary power source for strategic satellites operating in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), Geostationary Orbit (GEO), and Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO). These satellites are critical for reconnaissance, signal intelligence, and missile detection systems.
The company says its generator would act as a backup energy system independent of solar power, increasing resilience against malfunctions and non-kinetic attacks.
Ščepanskis points out that the war in Ukraine showed how crucial satellite reconnaissance data is for modern warfare.
In 2025, Ukraine lost an important position in the Russian Kursk Oblast when the US stopped sharing satellite intelligence.
This emphasises the importance of satellite data for strategy and highlights Europe’s vulnerability, as it mainly depends on US satellite assets, especially for high-value GEO satellites.
“As Europe is trying to become more independent, it is imperative to produce satellites with advanced capabilities on our own. Our technology provides an auxiliary energy source for satellites, which makes them more resilient to non-kinetic attacks and malfunctions,” he adds.
Long-term focus: the Moon economy
Beyond defence applications, Deep Space Energy plans to target lunar exploration programmes such as NASA’s Artemis, ESA’s Argonaut missions, and broader Moon Village initiatives.
On the Moon, night lasts roughly 354 hours, and temperatures can drop below- 150 degrees Celsius. Solar panels cannot provide continuous power during these extended periods of darkness.
The company says its generator would require approximately 2kg of Americium-241 fuel to produce 50W of power for a lunar rover, compared to about 10kg in legacy RTG systems for similar output.
Given the projected Americium-241 production capacity of around 10kg per year by the mid-2030s, this efficiency could significantly expand mission capacity.
According to Ščepanskis, the company’s technology can significantly enhance the economics of moon rover missions by enabling them to last multiple day-night cycles up to a few years. The sole cost of bringing payload to the Moon is up to a million euros per kilogram; thus, by extending the rovers’ lifetimes, the company helps save hundreds of millions.
Egita Poļanska, partner at the lead investor Outlast Fund, says that the company’s direction aligns with the fund’s strategic goals.
“Space energy tech has been stuck with certain limitations for decades, but we’re finally seeing the pieces come together for a real breakthrough – new materials, smarter power systems, and actual commercial demand for lunar operations. Deep Space Energy is building the infrastructure that will literally power the next chapter of space exploration and industry. As
Europe ramps up its space ambitions, we need our own companies to lead in these foundational technologies. We’re thrilled to back this team and honestly pretty excited to have an actual moonshot in our portfolio, in the most literal sense possible,” she says.
