Solar Cleaning Solutions for Saudi Giga-Projects

KAUST spinout NOMADD installs cleaning robots at NEOM’s first solar array

NEOM is using robotic technology developed by NO-water Mechanical Automated Dusting Device (NOMADD), a KAUST startup, to clean its first major solar array. NOMADD was founded at the university in 2012 and has since transformed into a leading KAUST spinout. After many years of research and design, and thousands of hours of field testing, NOMADD’s ambitions are becoming a reality.

NOMADD’s technology is a waterless, fully automated, robotic solar panel-cleaning system that is essential for solar arrays used in the Arabian Peninsula’s dusty desert. After a dust storm, the effectiveness of solar panels can be reduced by up to 60%. NOMADD’s robotic technology is designed to help solve this problem.

Having been designed, developed and tested in Saudi Arabia for the harshest desert conditions, NOMADD offers a local solution to a local problem. The technology was developed by Georg Eitelhuber, founder and inventor of NOMADD Desert Solar Solutions. Georg initially came to KAUST as a high school physics teacher, but he saw that a solution was needed for the development of solar arrays in the desert. With KAUST’s help, he founded NOMADD and has since seen it grow.

The startup is poised to have a breakthrough impact on the broader Middle Eastern solar market as the sector begins to take off in earnest. NOMADD offers a timely, innovative solution at a moment when Saudi Arabia is beginning to roll out solar power at scale across the Kingdom.

Some of the largest solar energy projects in the world are due to come on line in Saudi Arabia within the next few years. The country has set the goal of producing 50% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030, targeting 58.7 GW of installed solar and wind power capacity. tender to build the solar array at NEOM, while NOMADD won the bid to supply robots to SATCO and Lewis Berger. NOMADD’s successful bid was attributed to competitive pricing and superior product performance.

GEORG EITELHUBER Founder and Inventor of NOMADD

WE STRIVE TO MAKE OUR ROBOTS AND COMPANY EXAMPLES OF VISION 2030 IN ACTION. AS WE EXPAND FROM MEGAWATT TO GIGAWATT LEVELS, WE WILL HELP TO SOLVE A CRUCIAL CHALLENGE THAT FACES THE REGION’S AMBITIOUS SOLAR PROJECTS. WE ARE GRATEFUL TO BE ENTRUSTED WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY AND MISSION.

development will require enormous amounts of solar energy to fulfill its ambitions. NOMADD estimates that over the next few years roughly 10,000 of its panel-cleaning robots would be needed at NEOM and 50,000 across the country more broadly. The company plans to scale up significantly and is currently seeking new investment to achieve this. Presently, NOMADD is producing around 150 robots per month, but aims to start manufacturing some 1,500 robots per month in the near future.

SATCO

“SATCO first saw NOMADD in action at KAUST in 2018, and we were blown away. Fast forward to the present, and we are proud to say that we now have 59 NOMADD robots in operation at NEOM cleaning over 9,750 solar panels.”

Tarek Malek Antabi, Deputy CEO of SATCO

“With new investment, we will be able to make the leap into mass-scale production and become the solar solution provider for the Kingdom and the wider region,” Eitelhuber said.

NOMADD’s robotic brushes are operating on a 5.5-MW solar facility at NEOM, the first commercial-scale solar operation on site. The array is powering some of NEOM’s key infrastructure during the construction phase. Some 59 NOMADD robots have been deployed across almost 10,000 solar panels. Each robot can clean more than 1,000 panels, spanning a distance of around one kilometer in about 30 minutes. The robots, which were installed at NEOM in October 2021, are tailored to each array to ensure smooth integration. Thanks to NOMADD’s innovative software, the robots continuously communicate back to a central monitoring system, allowing for maintenance in real time.

The KAUST startup has been working with a number of other key players in the Kingdom and the wider region. NOMADD’s robots are currently deployed on nine Aramco sites and are being used on the world’s largest solar rooftop array in Dubai. ACWA Power, a Saudi firm, is also testing NOMADD’s robots in Dubai. Crucially, NOMADD is helping to localize solar-technology manufacturing in Saudi Arabia. Over 60% of the system’s components are currently produced in the Kingdom, and the company is aiming to achieve 100% local content manufacturing. The robots are built in Jeddah with the support of NOMADD’s Series B investor and manufacturing partner, Civil and Electrical Projects Contracting Company.