Tiny Space Startup Has a Galaxy-Size Vision, Starting With Earth

May 19 2023 • 17 mins

In this episode, I speak toAlice Miller, VP Space at Helios, a startup that is working on decarbonizing the steel industry, and also plans to make liquid Oxygen propellant on the moon.

Small startup, huge ambitions. Helios could one day be the like BP or Shell of the New Space Age, building a network of liquid oxygen production and distribution to all the space ships and human colonies that need to refuel as they head into deep space.

In the meantime, it's working on making resource extraction far less harmful to the planet, not just iron, but silicon, copper, nickel, lithium and other critical materials.
Today, the steel industry is the second largest polluter on Earth, about 10% of co2 emissions are from the steel industry.

Helios has hit upon a terrestrial application that could revolutionize the steel industry, eliminating 1.7 trillion tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. It could also make Helios a lot of money.

Alice also talks about the challenges on the way to space, and they are enormous. The cost of putting anything on the moon is currently $1 million per kilo, making it difficult to get investors on board for space projects that won't see a return for 10-15 years.

Some of you may have heard name Alice Miller before but can't place it. Originally from South Africa (where I grew up) Alice was the first woman to successfully sue the Israeli army for the right to enter the vaunted male-only, elite Israel Air Force pilot course. In a culture that regarded risks to women captured by the enemy as unacceptable, they were barred from becoming combat pilots. Alice sued in 1994 and won, opening the gate for a generation of women in the IAF.

So I was not surprised to see Alice as VP Space at Helios, a company that’s aiming to open the door to humankind’s next chapter: commercial space exploration, moon and Mars colonies, and whatever awaits us Sapiens out there in deep space as we attempt to become an interplanetary species.

Join us as we explore the future of space exploration and the potential of Helios to be the BP or Shell of the New Space Age.