Luxembourg’s SolarCleano deploys autonomous robots worldwide—from Australia to North Africa—to clean photovoltaic panels on massive solar farms in desert regions.
Thousands of photovoltaic panels span more than 12,000 hectares in the Australian desert: that’s the oversized project of Australian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, named SunCable. With a capacity of 6 GW—enough to power millions of homes—this installation would be the largest solar farm in the world. It would even surpass in size and capacity the one installed last year in the desert region of Xinjiang, China, with a capacity of 3.5 GW, currently considered the largest.
These increasingly vast mega solar farms are multiplying in desert zones across the world. But how can they be maintained when they are located in the middle of the desert, sometimes covering an area larger than that of a metropolis? Sand and dust can significantly reduce their electricity production and, ultimately, their efficiency rate. “If you have thousands of panels in the middle of the desert that lose between 0.5% and 1% of efficiency per day due to dirt, we’re talking about large amounts of money very quickly,” confirms Christophe Timmermans, co-founder and CEO of SolarCleano, a Luxembourg company specialised in this sector.
The company has developed robots capable of autonomously cleaning these kinds of installations. These robots are now deployed globally to clean photovoltaic fields in the Middle East, Australia, India, Chile, and North Africa. Initially, the entrepreneur never imagined such success was possible. After taking over the family business Fallprotec, which designs and develops safety equipment for working at height, he spoke with one of his clients, Pol Duthoit, who had founded a company specialised in cleaning solar panels. Duthoit wanted to develop a robotic solution. “At the time, solar panel cleaning was in its infancy,” recalls Christophe Timmermans. “It wasn’t a developed business, and the available solutions were manual. He needed a more autonomous solution.”
“We drew inspiration from various technologies, thinking we might make a few units, but never imagined such incredible expansion”
Given its engineering office and experience in electric motorisation, Fallprotec decided to take part in the project. A first prototype of a solar panel cleaning robot was developed in 2017. “We drew inspiration from various technologies, thinking we might make a few units, but never imagined such incredible expansion,” says Christophe Timmermans. The prototype was presented at the main solar industry trade fair, Intersolar, held annually in Munich. The success was immediate. “There was genuine interest from the sector,” recalls Timmermans. “So we spun off the activity and created the company SolarCleano.” The first robot was launched on the market in January 2018.
30 Robots Per Month
In the first year of activity, 20 robots were delivered. Today, the company produces an average of 30 robots per month. These models differ significantly from one another, to suit the environmental constraints of their deployment: smaller, larger, remote-controlled or autonomous, designed for desert terrains or rooftops. SolarCleano operates in two very different markets: the European-type market, where photovoltaic panels are installed on rooftops or carports and where energy production loss is relatively low. Cleaning in this case is needed only once to three times a year. “It’s not very frequent,” observes Timmermans. “In Europe, cleaning is done with water, and subcontractors travel from one plant to another to provide the service.”
Large Photovoltaic Fields
The second market category, outside Europe, now represents the majority of SolarCleano’s revenue. Timmermans says: “Our market is really the very large photovoltaic fields that are usually located in desert regions with high solar exposure and land that’s hard to otherwise make use of”. Cleaning is much more frequent here, and the task is performed by fully autonomous robots. “We deploy our robots on site, map the installation, and then the robots navigate the photovoltaic field fully autonomously,” says Timmermans. This navigation is made possible by retrieving satellite coordinates using triangulation (from three satellites), which, after recalculation, allows for positioning accuracy within two centimetres.
This evolution of SolarCleano’s robots goes hand in hand with a shift in the company’s business model. Initially, the company sold its first machines, which were not autonomous and required human operators. “This allowed us to grow quickly by generating significant revenue,” Timmermans notes. “With autonomous robots, we’re shifting the business model towards owning the robots and providing a service to our clients.” The robots are operated from Luxembourg, as is their maintenance, which is centralised.
A Viable Business Model
Although the company is expanding globally, all production remains based in Grass, Luxembourg, as do engineering and sales. Luxinnovation also supported the company in applying for funding which was entirely reinvested in R&D. Combined with European subsidies from the Horizon project and the profits generated from business activity, this allows the company to grow at its own pace without raising capital.
“Today, our business model is viable and allows us to calmly develop our solutions and maintain our technological lead,” explains Timmermans. This increased technological complexity is essential to retain a competitive edge against Israeli and Chinese rivals. “It’s only through innovation, research, and development that we can maintain this competitive advantage.”
This is vital in the effort to break into the Chinese market, which now accounts for more than half of the global market. The country’s immense photovoltaic fields are a key target for SolarCleano’s growth—along with the gigantic Australian SunCable project, which is attracting much attention. “We’d be thrilled to win it,” confirms Timmermans.
This article was published in the 6th edition of Forbes Luxembourg.
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