Converting lunar regolith into materials for Additive Manufacturing
A European Space Agency (ESA) Discovery project, led by the Danish Technological Institute (DTI), is currently investigating how lunar regolith can be converted into materials for Additive Manufacturing of electronic components on the Moon.
The Regolith to Repairs: ISRU for Additive Manufacturing of Electronics project focuses on enabling in-situ production of conductive inks and metal powders from locally available resources. By reducing reliance on Earth-based supply chains, the work aims to support future lunar missions with on-site repair and manufacturing capabilities.
As human missions return to the Moon under programmes such as Artemis, maintaining and repairing critical systems will become essential. Many of these systems depend on electronic circuits, and transporting replacement parts from Earth remains both costly and time-consuming. The DTI-led project addresses this challenge by exploring whether lunar regolith can serve as a feedstock for AM processes.
Lunar regolith contains approximately 40–45% oxygen by weight, chemically bound within its mineral structure. Extracting this oxygen – for use in propulsion or life support – leaves behind a metal-rich residue. The project evaluates whether this residual material can be processed into conductive feedstock suitable for Additive Manufacturing of electronic components.
At the core of the approach is molten salt electrolysis, in which regolith is processed in a calcium chloride electrolyte at temperatures between 800-1,000°C. When a voltage is applied, oxygen is released, leaving metallic alloys. Metalysis, based in Catcliffe, UK, which has collaborated with ESA and the UK Space Agency since 2019, is supplying both untreated and de-oxygenated simulated regolith for the study.
DTI is responsible for converting this metal-rich residue into usable feedstock for Additive Manufacturing. The institute is developing methods to produce conductive inks for AM circuits and metal powders for AM of larger components.
Christian Dalsgaard, Senior Consultant at DTI and principal investigator of the project, explained, “Every time you want to send a kilo into space, you need 15 kg of fuel to move it. There is an enormous advantage in being able to utilise local materials available on the Moon – for example, to repair critical parts.”
The ability to manufacture electronics on demand could support a wide range of applications, including maintenance of habitats, repair of robotic systems, and development of communications infrastructure.
“The primary innovation of the project is converting the conductive part of regolith into a digitally printable material,” Dalsgaard added. “This opens new opportunities for off-Earth manufacturing of electronics for future space missions.”
Dr Rita Palumbo, Advanced Manufacturing of Electronics specialist at ESA, stated, “The farther humankind ventures into space, the less we can afford to carry everything we need from Earth. Advanced Manufacturing of Electronics is one of the areas ESA is exploring to understand how future missions might build, repair and adapt electronics.”
To validate the concept, DTI and Metalysis will produce conductive materials from simulated regolith and assess their suitability for Additive Manufacturing. Initial demonstrations will focus on producing conductive features such as wires, with potential applications including antenna fabrication directly on the lunar surface.
While currently a proof-of-concept study, the project forms part of a broader effort to establish regolith as a viable feedstock for electrical components. According to DTI, interest has already been shown by aerospace and defence sector stakeholders.
The project was submitted through ESA’s Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) and is funded under the Discovery element of ESA’s Basic Activities programme.
