Chinese scientists are developing space‑based solar power technology that would collect solar energy and beam it back to Earth, according to multiple news outlets.

According to the South China Morning Post, Fan Guanheng and his team can send power over 100 metres (330 feet) through the air using mirrors, solar panels and a microwave transmitter. The same outlet reported that a team at Xidian University in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, is testing hardware that could be used to generate power in space and send it back to Earth, and that researchers are envisioning a transmission distance of 36,000 km (23,460 miles).

Global.chinadaily.com.cn identified Hou Xinbin as a senior researcher at the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing and a member of the Committee of Space Solar Power of the Chinese Society of Astronautics. The outlet explained that a space‑based solar power facility would convert collected solar energy into electromagnetic radiation such as microwaves and laser beams and send it wirelessly back to Earth’s surface, and that receiving stations will turn electromagnetic waves and laser beams into electricity for distribution.