The IPPL has received major support from the European Commission through the ASPIRE (Advanced Space Propulsion for Innovative Realization of space Exploration) project (grant. ref. no 101004366). ASPIRE was a large-scale H2020 project, bringing together several leading academic and industrial partners. It kicked-off in January 2021 and closed out in April 2024. ASPIRE was coordinated by SITAEL SpA in Italy, with the IPPL leading the work package (WP) for plasma simulation and analysis. The IPPL WP was ultimately aimed at the development of an alternative qualification strategy based on AI-enhanced numerical tools.
Building on the successful participation of IPPL in the ASPIRE program, the laboratory has secured another significant grant through the European Space Agency's (ESA) General Support Technology Programme (GSTP) Element 1: Building Blocks, with support from the UK Space Agency (UKSA). Secured and by IPPL researchers Dr. Maryam Reza and Dr. Farbod Faraji, this GSTP project (ref. no. 4000145716/24/NL/AR/ces), titled "Digital twin of Hall thrusters for spacecraft propulsion applications," aims to deliver the world's first digital twin (DT) technology for Hall thrusters. The project will achieve this through the development, verification, and integration of physics-based and machine-learning-enabled software building blocks. Additionally, it will formulate a ground-breaking Computer-aided Development Strategy (CDS) for Hall thrusters, that encompasses the project’s DT technology.
Investigation into the use of water as a cost-effective alternative propellant for Electric Propulsion (EP) was generously supported by a joint Innovate UK and Enterprise Singapore grant administered as part of the Eureka Globalstars program (Innovate UK ref. 92812, Enterprise Singapore ref. 20102KV8, Eureka ref. 2020-16526). The IPPL was joined in this endeavour by the SME URA Thrusters Ltd. and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) spin-off Aliena Pte. Ltd.
The IPPL has also benefitted from the support of the European Space Agency through a contract for the development of its hanging pendulum style thrust balance (ref. 5001026101). IPPL research was further supported by the agency through the co-funded PhD research grants of Jesus Manuel Munoz Tejeda, Emmanuelle Rosati Azevedo, and Freddy Bayliss, as implemented through the Discovery & Preparation program (ref. numbers 4000137543/22/NL/GLC/my & 317304/21/NL/GLC/my & 40000144148).