Small, light and fast, the GOMX-3 nanosatellite orbits the earth in just 90 minutes. This can only work with economical mini solar batteries. But the battery technology jointly developed by scientists at Saarland University and Danish engineers can do even more: it monitors the charging status as well as predicting how much power will be required for a given action, and how much capacity is available. The satellite can be controlled accordingly – this saves energy, cuts costs, and reduces waste because the batteries last longer. A development that can be put to good use not only in orbit, but also on Earth – for example in electric cars.