Faraday Factory and Zenno advance HTS magnets for space

Joint effort will boost innovative electric equipment for satellite manoeuvrability

TOKYO and AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Oct. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Faraday Factory Japan LLC, the world's leading superconducting tape maker (Faraday Factory), and New Zealand headquartered space-flight systems company Zenno Astronautics (Zenno), a developer of world-first superconducting electromagnets for space applications, announced a new initiative to improve superconductor magnets for space applications.

Based on 30+ years of experience in materials science of high temperature superconductors, Faraday Factory's team has initiated a strategic work to tailor superconductors specifically for space applications. In frame of collaboration, Faraday Factory will provide and Zenno will apply to magnet coils new types of HTS tape including new Mirai superconducting tape, which was unveiled in July 2025.

Although state-of-the-art superconductor performance already enables useful products for space environment, the development of improved superconductor wires aims to further increase operating margins, shorten uptime, decrease weight and reduce energy consumption. Space applications are especially demanding, hence the optimization effort is of paramount importance ensuring that full potential of superconductor is revealed in orbital operation.

The new collaboration will target temperature and magnetic field ranges, which are specific to game-changing Zenno's products such as Z01 Supertorquer. Faraday Factory expects that the new, drastically improved, superconductor product for space applications will be the result of this ongoing effort.

"I look forward to testing new HTS tape of Faraday Factory. Mirai could materially boost Supertorquer performance by delivering faster response and stronger magnetic dipole in the same compact, efficient form factor – enabling greater manoeuvrability in space," said Sebastian Wieczorek, co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Zenno Astronautics.

"Our work will demonstrate that performance of high temperature superconductor devices can be significantly boosted with the use of materials science. The efficient technical collaboration between experts of Faraday Factory and Zenno Astronautics is essential for bringing tangible results," said Sergey Samoilenkov, Director of Strategy at Faraday Factory Japan. 

About Zenno Astronautics

Zenno Astronautics Limited is a New Zealand, Europe and US-based company pioneering the future of sustainable and safe spacecraft operations utilising a range of superconducting magnet applications. Zenno enables fully autonomous and fuel-free satellite positioning and precision interactions between satellites. Zenno is creating multiple applications of superconductivity in space, including radiation shielding, plasma control, close proximity operations and beyond, for the benefit of the entire space sector.

About Faraday Factory Japan 

Faraday Factory Japan LLC runs the largest manufacturer facility of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) tape worldwide. The company has developed a successful technology based on pulsed laser deposition. The company constantly increases its production capacity, addressing the rapidly growing demand from fusion, power grid, and other technology markets.