Cailabs’ new optical ground station factory takes shape as company prepares to scale production in Europe and the US
- The construction of Factory 27, a new 10,000 m² manufacturing facility in Rennes aimed at scaling production of its optical ground stations and other advanced photonic systems, is progressing according to plan.
- The factory will give Cailabs the ability to build up to 50 optical ground stations a year by 2028 as global demand for laser communications surges.
- Factory 27 is due to be followed by the construction of a similar facility in the United States.
- The project is one of 150 industrial projects fast-tracked by the French government as part of its efforts to boost national industrial sovereignty.
Rennes, September 3—Global deeptech company Cailabs, a world leader in advanced photonics, has said that Factory 27, a new 10,000 m² manufacturing facility in Rennes that will give the company the means to build up to 50 optical ground stations a year by 2028, is progressing according to plan, adding that preparations for the construction of a similar site in the US are accelerating.
The new factory, which the company says is comfortably on track for delivery, is only the latest milestone in Cailabs’ journey from deeptech pioneer to proven, industrial-scale manufacturer. It will bring the production, integration, assembly, and testing of its optical ground stations together in a purpose-built facility designed to meet accelerating global demand for laser communications.
Crucially, Factory 27 will establish a manufacturing model that Cailabs can reproduce as it expands overseas. Preparations for the construction of a similar site in the United States are now accelerating: Cailabs will model the US site on the working factory, settled processes, skilled teams, and robust industrial supply chain established in France.
Founded in Rennes in 2013, Cailabs is one of the world’s leading specialists in laser communications and optical ground station technology. It enables high-speed optical links between satellites and the ground while compensating for atmospheric turbulence, one of the main technical barriers to reliable space-to-ground laser communications. It has routinely established bi-directional – space-to-ground and ground-to-space – laser links.
Cailabs, which employs more than 200 people, including approximately 40 PhDs, generates more than 70 per cent of its revenue internationally. Its optical ground stations have been adopted by government and commercial customers around the world.
Factory 27 will enable the company to move from individual production towards repeatable manufacturing at scale.
Jean-François Morizur, CEO and Founder of Cailabs, said:
“Demand for optical communications is growing. Meeting it means building the necessary technology and equipment at scale. Factory 27 will let us do that. By 2028, we will be able to make up to 50 optical ground stations a year in Rennes, with the people, processes and supply chain to serve customers around the world. We’re pleased to see the factory taking shape. It will serve as a model for our next facility, in the United States. We’ll draw on our experience in Rennes as we expand in the US in the months and years ahead.”
Factory 27 is one of the 150 strategic industrial projects benefiting from an accelerated French government procedure for investments considered vital to the country’s economic sovereignty.
This reflects the growing importance of secure space infrastructure, high-capacity communications and sovereign access to data. Optical communications bring far higher data rates than traditional radio systems while making links harder to intercept or jam and circumventing the need to take up radio-frequency spectrum, which is already and increasingly congested.
Construction is being led by FAUBOURG PROMOTION and the GROUPE IDEC engineering division through IDEC FACTORY, with GROUPE IDEC ENR Solar providing photovoltaic infrastructure.
Built on a former industrial brownfield site, Factory 27 will use a multi-storey design to shrink its footprint while creating dedicated areas for production, integration, assembly and testing.
Recruitment for the new factory has already begun across site management, manufacturing engineering, supply chain, quality and deployment. Around 50 further operational hires are planned to support the opening of the facility, followed by another recruitment phase as production ramps up.
