With solar farm management as their main focus, Swap is all set to introduce robot movers that can move autonomously with remote supervision. For this Startup Swap Robots with SOLV raised $7M for robots to trim solar farm vegetation.
Swap Robotics, a start-up in the energy sector and also the finalist of Battlefield Competition at Disrupt 2022 is all set to introduce robots in solar farms. The company aims to reduce operational costs in comparison to traditional solar vegetation management techniques costs like diesel-powered lawn mowers or sheep grazing.
Swap Robotics along with SOLV Energy aims to raise $7 million for this initiative. SOLV Energy, a leading EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) firm, is leading the funding round. On this George Hershman, CEO SOLV Energy said, “The solar industry is gearing up for huge investment resulting from the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Driving the development of innovative technology is essential to optimizing our capabilities and preparing our workforce for the influx of new projects in a growing number of states.†Solar vegetation management is the primary focus of the company, but its robots are also deployed commercially for snow plowing.
In the initial run, Swap will monitor and pre-map each site to determine the most efficient and safest path through the project area. It is necessary to define routes for robots and once the area is outlined then with remote supervision the robots can run autonomously.
Robots designed by Swap can traverse variable terrain with cutting decks particularly suited to tackle woody vegetation and thick grass reaching up to 2 inches. The company has lined up contracts to raise more than $9 million in signed agreements within 60 days of launching their robots and the upcoming 3 years.
Swap Robotics plans to use the funding for expanding its team along with ramping up its solar cutting operations by partnering with some of the largest solar utility organizations.
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Basic charging pattern by Swap for their services is a subscription-based method RaaS (Robots-as-a-Serive) model that is based on terrain and frequency, including other factors too. Startup Swap Robots with SOLV raised $7M for robots to trim solar farm vegetation and systems are being deployed already in selected farms in the southern United States and the company plans to expand to other parts of the country before the year ends. International extension is expected to begin next year.
Source: SOLV Energy
