Shares of Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) climbed 2.4% in premarket activity on Wednesday following the company’s announcement of a new solar cell engineered for spaceborne platforms.
The product, named IMM Apex, removes germanium substrates from the solar cell architecture that has been common in multi-junction space cells for roughly 30 years. By eliminating reliance on germanium, the company says the design directly targets rising materials costs and existing supply chain bottlenecks that have affected the space power sector.
Technical profile and integration
Rocket Lab reports that IMM Apex delivers a Beginning of Life (BOL) solar conversion efficiency of 31.5% and offers a 40% reduction in cell mass compared with traditional cells. The cell is promoted as a drop-in replacement for legacy solar cell products, enabling customers to adopt the new technology without large-scale retooling of existing systems.
Heritage and testing
The announcement builds on the company’s prior IMM cell technology, which has been flight proven in a variety of missions. Rocket Lab notes that versions of its IMM cells powered NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter and have flown on satellites for more than a decade. The company says the underlying technology has been through over a decade of testing and qualification.
Customer footprint and production
Rocket Lab highlighted a footprint of space-grade solar technology across major programs, including the James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s Artemis lunar efforts. The company also said more than 1,100 satellites currently in orbit use its solar products.
On the manufacturing side, Rocket Lab stated that optimized production processes and capital investments have enabled output at multi-100-kilowatt scales to meet what it described as growing demand. IMM Apex is available now for customer orders, the company added.
Market reaction
Investors responded in premarket trading, lifting the stock by 2.4% following the product debut. The company framed IMM Apex as a response to cost pressures and supply challenges while maintaining compatibility with existing satellite architectures.
Note: The article presents the company’s claims about IMM Apex, its performance metrics, production capacity, and installed base as reported by Rocket Lab.