Ice2Thrust Showcases Sustainable Propulsion Breakthroughs at Space Resources Week 2025

Luxembourg, 19-21 May 2025 — Space Resources Week, organized by the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC), once again brought together over 500 experts, researchers, and industry leaders to discuss the future of off-Earth resource utilization. As one of the largest international gatherings focused on space resources, the event continues to drive collaboration and innovation in this rapidly evolving sector.

This year, Ice2Thrust was proud to be strongly represented among the participating organizations. Our team, alongside affiliated researchers, contributed to the scientific dialogue with compelling presentations and poster sessions, highlighting recent advancements in technologies enabling sustainable in-situ resource utilization (ISRU).

Ice2Thrust in the Spotlight

Our flagship poster presentation, titled “Ice2Thrust: An End-to-End ISRU Demonstration of Sustainable Water-Based In-Space Propulsion”, delivered by Thilo Witzel, drew strong interest from both academic and industrial attendees. The project exemplifies a holistic approach to space sustainability, demonstrating how water extracted from lunar ice can be captured, purified, stored, and used directly as a propellant. This closed-loop concept not only reduces dependency on Earth-based resupply missions but also aligns with long-term ambitions for autonomous and regenerative space operations.

Contributions from Our Research Ecosystem

Ice2Thrust was part of a broader delegation of researchers contributing to Space Resources Week. The presented work covered a wide range of critical ISRU technologies:

• Christian Gscheidle presented “Rover-Wheel-Based Permittivity Sensors for Prospecting of Lunar Water”, exploring innovative sensing methods embedded in robotic mobility systems.
• Francisco J. Guerrero-Gonzalez shared “Maana Electric’s Roadmap Towards Becoming the Utility Company of the Solar System”, outlining scalable, solar-powered ISRU strategies.
• Florian Hipp introduced his poster on “Vacuum Extraction and Refining of Salt and Alloys for ISRU Molten Salt Electrolysis”, advancing sustainable metal extraction techniques.
• Alexandra Adiaconitei presented “Capturing and Purifying Lunar-Derived Water with Cold Traps”, aligning closely with Ice2Thrust’s vision for clean, reliable water harvesting.

These presentations collectively demonstrated how Europe’s research community is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space resources — from prospecting and purification to energy systems and propulsion.

Driving the Future of ISRU Propulsion

Ice2Thrust remains committed to developing scalable, sustainable propulsion systems using in-situ resources. Our participation at Space Resources Week 2025 reaffirms our position at the forefront of innovation, and we are thrilled to continue collaborating with our partners to make off-Earth operations more self-sufficient and environmentally conscious.