ATLANT 3D Achieves Key Design Milestone in Collaboration with European Space Agency
Company Successfully Designs and Validates Microgravity NANOFABRICATORTM; Delivers Path to On-Demand Space Production
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – March 13, 2025 – The ability to perform direct, selective material deposition in microgravity and zero gravity environments opens new frontiers for in-space fabrication of microelectronics, sensors, and functional materials. Ultimately, this ability is vital to enabling self-sufficient space missions, with a reduced dependency on Earth for resupply and greater autonomy. But traditionally, advanced manufacturing in the challenging environment of space has been fraught with obstacles.
Fortunately, this is changing. Today, 16 months after announcing their initial collaboration with the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) , ATLANT 3D, with its unique direct atomic layer processing (DALP) technology, announces a significant breakthrough in space manufacturing – the NANOFABRICATORTM ZERO-G system, a local atomic layer deposition (ALD) system tailored to microgravity and zero gravity manufacturing.
ESA BIC Denmark and ESA played a crucial role in supporting ATLANT 3D throughout this project. The ESA BIC identified ATLANT 3D’s DALP® technology as a novel, ideal solution to address the growing need for in-situ fabrication of high-precision components in space.
“We’re delighted to have completed this project demonstrating the utility of our microgravity and zero gravity-adapted systems for a real-world space deployment,” says Dr. Maksym Plakhotnyuk, Founder and CEO of ATLANT 3D. “Future space missions will no longer have to rely on Earth for resupply missions. Ultimately, this brings the vision of fully autonomous deep space exploration and inhabitation one step closer to reality, including the Moon and Mars.”
“We are proud to have collaborated with ATLANT 3D on their Microgravity NANOFABRICATOR™ Prototype, developed as part of the ESA programs. This project highlights the potential of advanced manufacturing technologies for microgravity and zero gravity environments, paving the way for high-precision component fabrication in space. It marks an important step toward in-space manufacturing, addressing the challenges of zero-gravity conditions and supporting future space exploration and innovation,” says Sune Nordentoft Lauritsen, Managing Director, ESA BIC Denmark.
ALD is a benchmark technology in advanced materials and semiconductors and has a critical edge for space-based applications due to its atomic-scale precision (enables ultra-thin coatings and functional layers crucial for electronics, optics, and protective coatings); material versability (allows the deposition of metals, semiconductor, oxides, fluorides, sulfides, nitrides etc., essential for radiation shielding, energy harvesting, and microelectronic components) and in-space fabrication potential (reduces reliance on pre-manufactured components from Earth, enabling on-demand innovation, prototyping, repair, maintenance, and manufacturing in orbit on interrestrial bodies).
ATLANT 3D’s modular, compact prototype is optimized for integration with the International Space Station (ISS). The prototype will serve as ground-based proof of concept and test bench. The next steps for ATLANT 3D include further technology development and validation, commercialization, and partnerships – expanding collaborations with space agencies and private companies for integration into future missions for in orbit validation. In the long term, it could be integrated into autonomous space manufacturing platforms for deep-space missions.
Funding Information: ESA BIC: ESA BIC Denmark Open Call for Proposals (Contract no: EBD-DTU-CO-018). ESA IDEA (EU): Contract no: 4000140251/22/NL/GLC/ov
ATLANT 3D has mastered control of matter at the atomic scale, enabling the creation of advanced materials and devices with unprecedented precision. The company’s breakthrough technology allows research teams and manufacturers to build what was previously impossible – from next-generation quantum computers to devices that can operate in the harsh conditions of space – while significantly reducing resource consumption. Based in Copenhagen and London, operations in the US, ATLANT 3D partners with research institutions and industrial companies to expand the boundaries of technological possibility.
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