Bladeranger (TASE: BLRN), a developer of software for monitoring and analyzing solar farms, announced that it has signed an exclusive distribution and cooperation agreement with Israeli company Propeller Drones to market and distribute its remote-controlled drone system. The Bladeranger system monitors, controls and cleans solar panels. The agreement is for three years.
This system is based on the one developed by Solar Drone, which recently merged with Bladeranger. Solar Drone has developed a payload specifically designed for drones to clean solar panels in complex locations. Founded in 2021, the company is a global pioneer and leader in developing “Drone in a Box” systems based on advanced technology including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and more that dramatically increase the efficiency of solar facilities, improve asset operation, save manpower, reduce costs and increase profitability.
Bladeranger has developed DeepSolar software, which provides monitoring and analytics services for solar fields. The integration with Solar Drone allows for technological integration between the software and the cleaning drone, and will enable the sale of a more comprehensive service package to each customer. According to Bladeranger, Solar Drone’s drone technology combined with DeepSolar software will lead the industry in maximizing green energy production from solar panels, through drone cleaning, monitoring and diagnostics.
The significance of the agreement lies in Propeller Drones’ positioning in the Israeli market. Propeller Drones is one of Israel’s leading drone service companies, operating nationwide and providing services to over 200 companies and organizations across diverse sectors and fields of activity such as technology, real estate, infrastructure, agriculture, renewable energy, security and defense. Propeller will be the sole marketer of the Bladeranger system in Israel. Exclusivity is subject to Propeller achieving annual revenue targets.
Under the terms of the agreement between Bladeranger and Propeller, Bladeranger will initially provide Propeller, at no direct cost, with three unique cleaning systems (drone payloads), technical support and software infrastructure required to operate the system, and spare parts. Propeller will distribute and market the system to its customers within Israel, and will be responsible for the manpower required to fly the drones included in the system.
BladeRanger will receive 30% of the total gross revenue generated by Propeller from the sale of the system to customers and the provision of related services.
The merger between Bladeranger and Solar Drone, and the resulting collaboration with Propeller, aims to solve a major problem in the solar energy market. A significant portion of energy production is lost due to dirt buildup on solar panels and poor maintenance, especially in solar farms located in complex terrains where it is difficult to clean panels properly, either manually or with robotic systems, such as farms in flooded fields, on mountain sides, on commercial roofs, and agricultural fields used for solar energy production. The cleaning market is estimated to be worth around $1 billion annually.
“I welcome the collaboration with BladeRanger, which brings with it an important and powerful combination of the impressive technological capabilities of automated remote-controlled drones with the powerful performance and operational capabilities of Propilor Drones to provide professional and efficient monitoring, control and cleaning services for solar fields, generating significant economic value for developers and solar companies,” said Propilor Drones Founder and CEO Itamar Kohaly. “This collaboration is another important pillar in achieving Propilor Drones’ vision of distributing and making drone and UAV capabilities available to its customers as a service that significantly improves business and operational processes across various industries in general and the renewable energy industry in particular.”
“I welcome the collaboration with Propeller Drones, Israel’s leading drone company, which will operate the specially designed Bladeranger payload in solar fields and help deploy this innovative technology in Israel, in order to maximize solar energy production from farms in complex locations, which today have no other cleaning alternatives. In this way, I hope to bring good news to these farms and allow them to reduce energy loss due to dirt and the difficulty of effective maintenance due to their location,” added Bladeranger CEO Oded Fruchtman.
This article was published in Globes, Israeli Business News – en.globes.co.il – on July 1, 2024.
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