Round tables

ROUND TABLE:ENERGY STORAGE FOR A JOURNEY ON THE MOON

Today we are not asking which technology is ‘best’ in general, but rather: best for which lunar mission, under which constraints, and at what maturity level? We will compare batteries, regenerative fuel cells, and RTGs/RHUs across mission duration, survivability, mass, safety, logistics, and scalability.

The roundtable will be moderated by Géraldine Palissat, energy storage engineer at the European Space Agency.

Dr. Rachel Buckle

Head of Technology Enersys / ABSL

Dr Rachel Buckle is Head of Technology at EnerSys ABSL and has more than 19 years of experience in lithium-ion cell selection, testing and qualification for space applications. She has supported a wide range of European and international spacecraft programmes, with extensive experience in lithium-ion cell life testing, degradation analysis and the prediction of long-term performance for high-reliability missions.

Rachel is currently supporting an ESA-funded lunar exploration programme, providing battery cell expertise for the development of a lunar service module. Her work spans both the assessment of flight-proven technologies and the evaluation of battery performance in demanding space environments In addition to supporting current programmes, Rachel works across EnerSys Precision Power Solutions to assess emerging energy storage technologies and their suitability for future aerospace, defence and space applications. Her interests include advanced lithium-ion technologies, solid-state batteries and the challenges of deploying next-generation energy storage systems in extreme environments.

Dr. Luc Littré

Research Engineer
Air Liquide Advanced Technologies

Dr Luc Littré is a Research Engineer at Air Liquide Advanced Technologies, specializing in space energy solutions and electrochemical systems. With over 5 years of experience in the space sector, Luc focuses on the strategic and technical development of regenerative fuel cell systems (RFCS) tailored for extreme environments and lunar applications. He has been driving developments of RFCS activities in coordination with ESA and new PEM fuel cell stacks in coordination with CNES since 2021. His main contributions in those activities were steering complex multi-physics design, architectural trade-offs, assembly and qualification tests. Holding a double degree in energetic and mechanical engineering from Grenoble INP and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Dr. Mihails Scepanskis

CEO Deep Space Energy

Dr Mihails Ščepanskis is a scientist-turned-entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Deep Space Energy, where he leads the development of high-efficiency radioisotope power systems for lunar, deep-space and resilient satellite missions. He holds a PhD in physics and spent a decade in research at the University of Latvia, Leibniz University Hannover and Argonne National Laboratory. Before establishing Deep Space Energy, he co-founded CENOS, an engineering simulation software company. His work now focuses on turning advanced energy-conversion science into practical, long-duration power solutions for missions beyond the reliable reach of solar energy.

ROUND TABLE:APA & ADHA

The APA initiative aims to strengthen Europe’s resilience, autonomy, technical excellence, and commercial competitiveness in the space sector through power units built from standardised modules. It complements the ADHA initiative; together, APA and ADHA could provide the core functions of a generic LEO platform.

The APA round table will address several key questions: What are the challenges in defining robust requirements for standard units and modules? How does APA compare with legacy products, particularly for constellations of 50 or 100 satellites when industrialisation is considered? To what extent could APA units, modules, and subassemblies be accepted and integrated through standard procedures with minimal testing? Should APA standardisation extend to solar arrays and batteries? Which APA activities will begin soon, and which remain under assessment? How can the development of an APA ecosystem be effectively supported? Could APA and ADHA justify a shared component-procurement strategy, and could the resulting experience benefit New Space applications?