Already a European market leader, the solar panel cleaning robotics firm is putting all its efforts into producing its B1A robot, convinced that it will be the game changer the solar panel cleaning industry is looking for.
While acquiring solar panels is a great start to reducing one’s electricity costs and meeting renewable energy goals, it is not enough. To function at their highest potential, they require continuous upkeep and cleaning, which is why Luxembourg-based SolarCleano has been developing solar panel cleaning robots since 2017.
Already active in 5 continents, the Luxinnovation-supported company has sold more than 750 of its autonomous and semi-autonomous cleaning robots to the solar cleaning industry around the world.
“We’ve had a lot of success in Latin America and are also trying really hard to succeed in the US,” explains Katerina Begkain, marketing coordinator at SolarCleano.
Having recently expanded its customer service to the USA with SolarCleano USA, it is safe to say that the company’s efforts are bearing fruit.
Automating the big guns
What helped SolarCleano garner more attention last year was the release of its B1A tech, a significantly larger model than the F1 bestseller, which is remote-controlled and tailored to utility-scale power plants. With a cleaning capacity of 8MW per day, it is also SolarCleano’s most innovative cleaning robot to date, as it’s able to automatically track and self-adapt to the height and inclination of solar panels.
“For now it’s still with remote control, but we are working on making it fully automatic, that’s the goal,” said Katerina, adding: “We are putting all our efforts and money into making the B1A because [achieving full automation] will make a huge difference on the market.”
Educating the solar industry
As a relatively new and growing industry, there is still a great lack of knowledge out there when it comes to the maintenance of solar panels.
“Many owners of solar panels have no idea about how to clean solar panels which is why I’m really trying to communicate about the maintenance of solar panels, says Katerina.
Even on research pages, very little information can be found on how to clean the solar panels, which is why SolarCleano is trying to educate the cleaners about the right approach.
New markets
Having doubled its employee numbers last year, SolarCleano is ready to explore new markets and challenges. First on the list is China, where the company recently participated in a trade show to gather more information on the market opportunities.
“We don’t just want to be a European and Luxembourgish company, we want to have robots worldwide,” says Katerina.
Having already garnered the attention of Time Magazine with its F1A model – it was named 1 of 200 innovative products in 2022 – SolarCleano will no doubt get another step closer to achieving its global ambitions once it releases its B1A model.
Editor’s note: Christophe Timmermans, Co-founder & CEO of SolarCleano, talks about his startup which was founded 6 years ago with the goal of creating a robot specifically designed for cleaning solar panels.
