German engineer sends his robot into the desert

Ridha Azaiz, an aspiring German engineer, wanted to build a robot that restores the efficiency of solar power systems by cleaning the panels so they function properly. In 1997 Azaiz was 13, and it bothered him that if a solar power system wasn’t cleaned, the energy yield of the solar panels rapidly decreased. In 1998, tinkering with his invention led Azaiz to the Youth Research Foundation and onto television with his cleaning robot. ‘Solarbrush’ made its way to Berlin in 2009, then California, and now into the booming Middle East countries, such as the UAE.

A dirty solar power system only produces two thirds of its power. Where solar power systems are most useful - in the ‘sunbelt countries’ like Morocco and Saudi Arabia, as well as the US states of Arizona and California - there are sand deposits which are a major problem for solar panels. Azaiz’s robot brushes sand and dust from solar panels until all the particles fall into the gaps away from each panel and onto the ground. Other robots suck, wash and clean the panels with water and detergent - these devices are said to be difficult to use and require pumps and pipes which are usually more expensive than a small car.

The largest competitors are currently unskilled workers who use simple methods, such as window cleaning, to clean solar power plants. This is a task that often exceeds that of cleaning the size of 200 football fields and must be carried out in the heat of the desert. With Solarbrush, four robots at a time can be supervised by a service team, each robot being manually moved from one row of solar panels to the next.

Solarbrush won this year’s hy! Berlin Hardware Award on 19 January. Comments from the jury of the start-up competition praised the concept, and investor Esther Dyson was pleased with the focus of Solarbrush.

“It’s great because it shows clear problem solving, very targeted and specific,” Dyson said.

Along with the prize money of €10,000, Azaiz also won a business trip to Silicon Valley to meet with investors. The day prior, in Abu Dhabi, Azaiz was demonstrating Solarbrush at the World Future Energy Summit and already had many enthusiastic onlookers.

Furthermore, Solarbrush has been nominated for the Code_n Contest, which provides feedback and prize money along with international contacts for start-ups. The award will take place at CeBIT on 7 March, which is expected to be attended by many investors, 50 founders from the green tech industry and thousands of visitors. Solarbrush, along with five other start-ups, was chosen to present the prototype at the CeBIT opening press conference.

Azaiz describes his goals for the coming months as follows: “I have the university degree of engineering in my hand and can now fully concentrate on Solarbrush. I want to test the device as soon as possible on large systems. I hope to meet the right partners at the award ceremony of the World Future Energy Summit, on a business trip to Silicon Valley and the Berlin Energy Days. Solarbrush is now growing fast, so I just need exploratory investors and partners for distribution.”