The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has announced a gift of more than $100 million from Donald Bren through the Donald Bren Foundation in support of the Space-Based Solar Power Project (SSPP), which aims to produce a global supply of affordable, renewable, clean energy by harnessing solar power from space.

The gift was made anonymously in 2013 but has been disclosed as SSPP nears a significant milestone: a test launch of multifunctional technology-demonstrator prototypes that collect sunlight and convert it to electrical energy, transfer energy wirelessly in free-space using radio frequency electrical power, and deploy ultralight structures that will be used to integrate them.

Bren, who chairs the Irvine Company, is a lifetime member of the Caltech Board of Trustees. He first learned about the potential for space-based solar energy manufacturing in 2011 in a Popular Science article and approached Caltech's then-president Jean-Lou Chameau to discuss creating a research project dedicated to space-based solar power.

"I have been a student researching the possible applications of space-based solar energy for many years," said Bren. "My interest in supporting the world-class scientists at Caltech is driven by my belief in harnessing the natural power of the sun for the benefit of everyone."

"Donald Bren has brought the same drive and discipline that he has demonstrated with master planning communities to the Space Solar Program," said Caltech president Thomas F. Rosenbaum. "He has presented a remarkable technical challenge that promises a remarkable payoff for humanity: a world powered by uninterruptible renewable energy."

(Photo credit: Caltech)