ECAPS

ECAPS AB (Ecological Advanced Propulsion Systems), founded in 2000 and headquartered in Solna, Sweden, is a spacecraft propulsion company specializing in High Performance Green Propulsion (HPGP) systems that replace toxic hydrazine monopropellant with non-hazardous propellants that offer superior performance. ECAPS is now a subsidiary of Bradford Space (formerly Bradford ORION), the Netherlands-based space systems company, and its green propulsion technology has become one of the most flight-proven alternatives to conventional hydrazine systems.

The company's core product is the HPGP thruster family, which burns LMP-103S — a proprietary ammonium dinitramide (ADN)-based liquid propellant developed by the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) and licensed exclusively to ECAPS. LMP-103S is an aqueous solution of ammonium dinitramide, ammonium nitrate, water, and methanol that is non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, and not classified as a hazardous material under European regulations — dramatically simplifying propellant handling compared to hydrazine, which requires full SCAPE (Self-Contained Atmospheric Protection Ensemble) hazmat suits and dedicated fueling facilities.

Despite this benign handling profile, LMP-103S delivers a specific impulse (Isp) of approximately 220–252 seconds depending on thruster size and catalyst conditions — 6–12% higher than standard hydrazine monopropellant thrusters operating at similar conditions, primarily because ADN's higher energy content produces hotter combustion gases.

ECAPS achieved its first orbital demonstration in 2010 on the PRISMA spacecraft — a Swedish Space Corporation technology demonstration mission that flew two satellites performing rendezvous and proximity operations. PRISMA's HPGP thrusters logged hundreds of hours of orbital operation, validating the catalyst, catalyst bed, and propellant combination in the space environment and clearing the technology for commercial adoption.

Subsequent HPGP flights include NASA's GPIM (Green Propellant Infusion Mission, 2019) on a Ball Aerospace satellite, which flew the AF-M315E green propellant competitor alongside HPGP-heritage technology, and numerous commercial satellite deployments. ECAPS thrusters are available in sizes from 0.1N to 220N thrust, covering attitude control, orbit raising, and deorbit maneuver requirements for satellites from 1U CubeSats to 1,000 kg GEO platforms.