Troy, Michigan and Chicago – September 30, 2026 -- Virtus Solis Technologies and Brae Systems have closed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement for space-based solar power, marking the world's first commercial orbital solar PPA and a multi-billion-dollar lifetime contract commitment.
Virtus Solis will deliver 100 MW of continuous orbital solar power to Brae's subsea GPU infrastructure
Under the deal, Virtus Solis will supply 100 MW of 24/7 baseload solar power, equivalent to 876,000 MWh annually, transmitted via a dedicated receiving station to be built in Illinois. Brae holds an option to expand capacity to 250 MW, or 2.19 million MWh annually, within three years of initial commercial operations.
Brae pairs orbital power with underwater data centers to cut cooling and grid costs
Brae Systems deploys GPU compute modules in marine environments to access free liquid cooling and avoid land constraints tied to terrestrial data centers. CEO Vishnu Indukuri said the 20-year power supply insulates Brae's infrastructure from grid curtailment while keeping power costs predictable and carbon emissions at zero.
Virtus Solis uses RF power beaming to guarantee 99.9% uptime without batteries
Unlike terrestrial solar or wind, which need battery storage to offset intermittency, Virtus Solis transmits power continuously through radio-frequency wireless power beaming, targeting 99.9% uptime. The company is developing new power electronics for orbital generation under a $2 million corporate development agreement with ARPA-E.
Virtus Solis will hold its first public technical demonstration in March 2027
The company expects the demonstration to yield record Wireless Power Transfer efficiencies, a key proof point for its unit economics. CEO John Bucknell called the PPA an inflection point for the energy transition, arguing that gigawatt-scale AI compute demand cannot be met cleanly by strained terrestrial grids.
Bucknell addressed the Space Solar Power Symposium in Washington, D.C.
On September 30, 2026, Bucknell joined a keynote debate titled "Why Space Belongs in the Energy Room" at the POWER Magazine and Space Frontier Foundation event, as Virtus Solis positions the agreement as the first in a series of commercial offtake deals expected over the coming months.