Clean energy: Scrubbing wind turbines with robots nets Aerones $39M

Aerones, a robotics startup that scrubs and inspects upwind turbines truthful humans don’t person to, secured $38.9 cardinal successful caller backing this period from dozens of undisclosed investors, TechCrunch has learned.

Wind turbines nutrient cleanable energy, but their towers thin to leak oil, which tin corrode blades, summation upwind absorption and pollute the crushed below. Aerones’ remote-operated robots cleanable towers and blades by blasting them with a liquid detergent, portion funnels beneath the blades cod the mucked-up liquid for reuse. The robots besides inspect turbine systems with cameras and ultrasound scanners.

Aerones’ tract says the institution has cleaned much than 5,000 turbines to day crossed 19 countries. For context, determination are much than 72,000 upwind turbines successful the U.S. alone. In 2021, turbines generated astir 9% of each energy successful the states. 

Backed by Y Combinator and hailing from Latvia, Aerones aims to rise astatine slightest $2.5 cardinal more, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The startup did not instantly respond to a petition for much details connected the round.

In April, Aerones tucked successful $9 cardinal successful effect funding from France’s Future Positive Capital and Estonia-based Change Ventures. At the time, co-founder Dainis Kruze said the steadfast was “rapidly scaling up operations” and was already moving with 9 retired of 10 of the biggest firms successful the industry, including GE.