Results Achieved
Prototype PCDU Demonstration: A flight-representative Power Conditioning and Distribution Unit (PCDU) was designed, manufactured, and fully tested under space-relevant conditions (thermal vacuum, vibration, EMC). The unit passed all qualification campaigns, confirming its readiness for in-orbit demonstration.
Scalable PCDU Architecture: A modular architecture was defined for solar array regulation, battery management, and load distribution. It supports mission-specific scalability from CubeSats to multi-kW satellites while remaining compliant with ECSS standards.
Agile Semiconductor Engine (ASE): A design automation framework (PRIME, FACTOR, ICFLOW, SIMFLOW, LAYOUT) was developed to reduce IC design time by over 50% and enable generative design, CI integration, and automated radiation analysis.
Reliability and Safety: Comprehensive FMECA identified over 130 failure modes with associated mitigation strategies. Redundancy, DET recovery paths, and dual-diode topologies were introduced to enhance resilience and single-point-failure protection.
Potential Impacts
Technical and Scientific: The results directly address long-standing bottlenecks in satellite power systems: efficiency, configurability, and reliability. The combination of radiation-hardened ICs with software-defined PCDUs enables faster customisation and better performance across diverse satellite platforms.
Industrial and Market: By controlling the semiconductor supply chain and embedding configurability in hardware, SPHERICAL creates a strong competitive moat. This opens opportunities in both institutional programmes (ESA, EU, national agencies) and commercial markets (LEO constellations, telecoms, Earth observation, dual use).
Economic: The modular PCDU line lowers non-recurring engineering costs for customers, enabling faster time-to-market and higher margins. European sourcing of IC fabrication reduces dependency on US ITAR-restricted components.
Societal and Strategic: The work strengthens Europe’s strategic autonomy in space electronics, contributing to resilience in critical infrastructure and dual-use applications (civil and defence).
