Technology
A project aims to make electronics in space out of Moon’s soil
A new project supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) aims to turn lunar soil into electronics. Te goal is to reduce future lunar missions’ dependence on supplies from Earth. Te ability to produce functional electronic systems directly on the Moon or Mars through ‘in-situ resource utilisation’ is seen as a significant and transformative step towards sustainable and resilient space exploration. Te project is led by the Danish
Technological Institute, drawing on its expertise in synthesising conductive materials and formulating printable inks and metal powders. Te team is joined by the UK-based Metalysis, which is supplying lunar soil for the experiments and its patented process in extracting oxygen from it. Lunar soil, also called regolith, contains 40-45% oxygen. Tis oxygen is released with Metalysis’s process, to then be used in rocket propulsion. Once the oxygen is extracted
from the regolith, a mixture of metal alloys remains, which is then turned into ink for printed electronics and powder for conductive 3D printing. “Our process was originally designed as an
alternative method for titanium production. However, the technology is applicable to nearly 50 elements in the periodic table, and it is feedstock-agnostic, which means it can process lunar regolith,” said Dr Ian Mellor, MD and chief scientist at Metalysis. Te project addresses two key problems
in modern space exploration: the high costs and logistical complexities of transporting materials from Earth. “Every time you want to send a kilo into
space, you need 15 kilos of fuel to move it,” said Christian Dalsgaard, Senior Consultant at the Danish Technological Institute. “Te primary innovation of the project is converting the conductive part of regolith into a digitally printable material. Tis opens
A project is converting Moon’s soil into material for making electronics in space
completely new opportunities for off-earth manufacturing of electronics for future space missions.” Te €155,000 project is a proof-of-concept
and is expected to seed several new projects from the Danish Technological Institute where specialists focus on unlocking the enormous potential of regolith as a raw material for making electrical and electronic components.
NGK Insulators joins initiative that will industrialise optical quantum computers
NGK Insulators of Japan is joining the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) R&D project for developing ‘Enhanced Infrastructures for Post-5G Information and Communication Systems’. Tis will contribute NKG’s expertise in thin film lithium niobate (TFLN) optical technology, that will be used for the industrialisation of optical quantum computers. NGK’s bonded TFLN wafer technology will
be harnessed for the development of photonic ICs for optical quantum computers. Tese will then contribute toward the information processing infrastructure that will support next-generation AI. Advances in generative AI have increased
electricity consumption at data centres around the world, and the resulting environmental burden and higher energy costs have emerged as key issues. Te high-
efficiency. Moreover, because they are highly compatible with existing optical fibre, optical quantum computers are seen as a promising next-generation technology. With its direct bonding technology
Bonded wafers for SAW filters
speed computing capabilities of quantum computers are attracting attention as a potential solution. Conventional quantum computers operate
at extremely low temperatures, requiring massive cooling equipment and tremendous energy costs. In contrast, optical quantum computers can operate at room temperature, eliminating the need for cooling equipment and enabling a substantial reduction in installation space and greater energy
04 February 2026
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
cultivated through the development of bonded wafers for surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters, NGK can join different materials with high precision at room temperature without adhesives, thereby ensuring the material properties of TFLN and high reliability. Furthermore, by applying its ultra precision polishing technology, which enables the functional layer to be fabricated as a uniform thin film at the nanometre level, NGK will contribute to the further thinning of wafers. Based on these efforts, NGK will develop eight-inch TFLN wafers that will pave the way for reducing mass production costs. Te project will run to year 2027.
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