Dublin based Celtonn joins the space race….
Dr Kelly established the company alongside his daughter and chief operations officer Aoife Kelly, Taiwan-based vice-president of engineering Yulung Tang, and CEO Marie Bourke.
Celtonn chief executive Marie Bourke has outlined how the young Irish space technology company is gaining traction in the global satellite sector through its work on next-generation millimetre wave (mmWave) semiconductors.
Founded two years ago, Celtonn — pronounced “Kel-tonn”, blending Celtic heritage with the Irish word for wave — is developing advanced mmWave sensors aimed at applications ranging from satellite communications and 6G networks to medical imaging and weather forecasting. The technology has been a lifelong research focus for co-founder and chief technology officer Dr Mark Kelly, a veteran engineer and serial entrepreneur with more than four decades of experience in the field.
Dr Kelly established the company alongside his daughter and chief operations officer Aoife Kelly, Taiwan-based vice-president of engineering Yulung Tang, and CEO Marie Bourke. Although trained as a microbiologist, Cork native Bourke has worked in radio frequency technologies since 2011 and now leads the company’s commercial strategy.
The founding team previously worked together at Limerick-based space firm Arralis. When Arralis’s investors exited the European market, the group launched Celtonn, building on patents already held by Dr Kelly and a shared ambition to push mmWave technology beyond existing limits.
Celtonn designs and manufactures semiconductor modules and the specialised electromagnetic housings required for extremely high-frequency satellite applications. Operating at higher frequencies brings challenges such as signal loss and atmospheric attenuation, issues the team says it has successfully addressed. The completed modules can be integrated directly into customers’ satellite systems.
The company’s technology is currently undergoing commercial trials with a large aerospace original equipment manufacturer. Bourke says these pilots are providing crucial insight into how customers use the products and the problems they solve. Following a recent appearance at the European Space Tech Expo in Bremen, Celtonn has also been linked — indirectly — to potential work connected with SpaceX.
Initially self-funded, the startup received early validation when it was accepted into the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre Ireland programme in 2023. This year, Celtonn secured its first ESA contract to develop semiconductors for next-generation satellites and is preparing to begin a second ESA project in January. With sufficient runway secured, the company has paused plans for a €1.5m funding round to retain control over its growth.
The first ESA project focuses on V-band amplifiers, while the upcoming contract will target the less-developed D-band, seen as critical for future high-capacity data transmission, 6G and AI-enabled systems. Celtonn demonstrated terabit-level D-band data rates at CERN in October 2024, underlining its technical progress.
Having also completed the CASSINI Business Accelerator, Celtonn is now laying the groundwork for expansion into the US satellite market as it continues to build momentum across Europe.
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