The thrust-producing ions are supplied from their ionic liquid propellant — a safe, non-toxic liquid salt. This novel source of ions allows us to avoid the use of large ionization chambers, pressurized tanks, bulky valves, and external cathodes.

Technology is built around a thruster "chip" architecture. Each chip houses hundreds of microscopic emitters that produce beams of ions generated from our novel propellant source: ionic liquid.

They use electric fields to accelerate ions. Ions leave the thruster chips through small holes in the extractor grids over each chip, and propel the spacecraft in the opposite direction.