When photovoltaic power stations meet artificial intelligence, what kind of spark will be created?

The PR100 intelligent cleaning robot — this is the answer given by Hefei Renjie Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Renjie Intelligent”).

As an innovative enterprise focusing on intelligent photovoltaic cleaning, Renjie Intelligent has continued to deliver positive news since its debut at the 2020 SNEC Exhibition. From becoming the first in China to obtain TÜV SÜD certification and receiving the world’s first CGC certification certificate, to winning the “Annual Rising Enterprise” award at the 12th China (Wuxi) International New Energy Conference, Renjie Intelligent has rapidly emerged in the field of photovoltaic power station operation and maintenance.

“With the arrival of the grid parity era, the market space for intelligent photovoltaic cleaning will be fully opened, and intelligent cleaning robots will become standard equipment for many power stations. Although the market size of intelligent cleaning is much smaller than that of modules and inverters, Renjie Intelligent is committed to this niche field with professionalism and focus, aiming to become a ‘big fish’ in a ‘small river,’” said Hu Yuran, General Manager of Renjie Intelligent.

Encouragingly, although Renjie Intelligent entered the market later than some competitors, 3 to 4 years of R&D have enabled its products to reach world-leading standards and quickly gain market recognition. China Power Investment, Yellow River Upstream Hydropower, Three Gorges New Energy, and others have all adopted Renjie Intelligent’s products. Among them, the PR100 robots deployed at the 110 MW fishery-solar hybrid project in Sihong, Jiangsu Province have been put into large-scale service on the “dust removal battlefield.”

The current intelligent cleaning market resembles a chaotic Warring States era, with uneven product quality. Renjie Intelligent is committed to delivering high reliability and durability to create greater value for customers and reshape the industry’s trust and recognition of cleaning robots.

Targeting Industry Pain Points with Technology and Quality

When it comes to intelligent cleaning robots, the photovoltaic industry is no stranger. As early as ten years ago, several domestic enterprises began researching photovoltaic module cleaning technologies. By combining advanced overseas technologies with China’s photovoltaic power station realities, various technical approaches such as single-row cleaning, cross-row cleaning, and portable cleaning have been developed, with many practical applications in the market.

However, due to inadequate product quality and insufficient service support capabilities, many cleaning robots purchased by photovoltaic power station investors soon became mere “ornaments.” Some companies producing cleaning robots were too small in scale, often shutting down before product quality issues could even be addressed. Such disorder has seriously affected user experience, resulting in low acceptance of cleaning robots in the domestic photovoltaic market.

“In many overseas markets such as the Middle East, cleaning robots are already standard equipment. The main reason the domestic market has not yet developed is that the core pain point of reliability has not been resolved. In response, we have placed product reliability as our top priority. Our product design meets C4-level protection standards, ensuring stable and reliable operation even in coastal areas or regions with strong sandstorms.” Renjie Intelligent’s robot products had already undergone 3 to 4 years of intensive laboratory research before the company was officially established, and were only launched after repeated refinement and maturity. In field validation, the PR100 series intelligent cleaning robots have operated stably and performed well in photovoltaic power stations across Northwest, North China, and East China, even under harsh conditions such as heavy dust, strong winds, and salt spray.

Intelligence is another major feature of Renjie Intelligent’s cleaning robots. The PR100 series integrates multi-platform data, enabling real-time identification of robot status and execution of operational strategies accordingly. Equipped with intelligent four-wheel drive technology, the PR100 offers exceptional obstacle-crossing and climbing capabilities, making it suitable for complex environments. When encountering obstacles or large gaps between modules during cleaning, it can easily traverse them.

Through intelligent algorithms, the PR100 robot also features deep self-learning capabilities. After encountering certain situations repeatedly, the robot can recognize and make autonomous decisions. For example, in obstacle avoidance, when encountering obstacles it has previously “learned,” the robot can automatically adjust its position and cross safely and smoothly. This not only greatly improves operation and maintenance efficiency but also minimizes damage to photovoltaic modules.

Professional and Focused: Becoming a “Little Giant” in a Niche Field

Research by professors at Duke University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has shown that in arid regions such as the Arabian Peninsula and northern and eastern India, if solar panels are cleaned once a month, dust accumulation reduces power generation efficiency by 17% to 25%. If cleaned only once every two months, power output may drop by 25% to 35%.

In reality, for many photovoltaic power stations, due to the lack of timely cleaning and maintenance, actual power generation is only about 60% to 70% of expected output, resulting in far lower returns than anticipated. After a power station is completed, timely and scientific cleaning management is key to capturing more sunlight under the same conditions.

“Our calculations show that projects using Renjie Intelligent robots can achieve an average power generation increase of over 10%, and in areas with severe pollution and dust, the increase can even reach 20%. Compared with manual cleaning at the same cost level, intelligent robotic cleaning delivers a comprehensive return on investment 1.5 to 4 times higher, bringing more considerable returns to owners.” Based on a clear understanding of market capacity and customer needs, Hu Yuran is confident about the future prospects of Renjie Intelligent’s cleaning robots. “In the coming years, after customers experience Renjie’s products, they will regain confidence in cleaning robots. Under the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, the cleaning robot industry will usher in a truly explosive growth period.”

It is reported that Renjie Intelligent will launch a new robot specifically designed for commercial and industrial photovoltaic applications by the end of next year. Addressing the issues of high cleaning costs and inconvenient deployment in distributed photovoltaics, this robot adopts a tracked, frameless design, resembling a vacuum cleaner in form. In addition, Renjie Intelligent will introduce cleaning robots for special application scenarios in the future, effectively covering more segmented market spaces.

“As of the end of 2019, global cumulative photovoltaic installed capacity reached approximately 626 GW, and it is expected to exceed 700 GW by the end of this year. The market space for cleaning robots will continue to expand. This is a niche market, and Renjie Intelligent will establish itself with professionalism and focus, providing high-quality and reliable products and services to grow into a ‘big fish’ in a ‘small river,’” Hu Yuran concluded.