Nocca aims to address the less-discussed sustainability challenge of solar energy operations—high financial and environmental costs of keeping solar panels clean.
Nocca Robotics, a Pune-based startup, has raised investment worth Rs 12.4 crore from the Indian Angel Network (IAN). A press release issued by IAN on Wednesday said the startup will use this investment for setting up its manufacturing capacity.
Founded in April 2017, Nocca Robotics is the brainchild of IIT Kanpur graduates Harshit Rathore and Nikhil Kurele. Ajeet Chansuriya, Mayur Chate and Samar Ahmed are also a part of the team. The venture leverages leading-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, deep learning and robotics to provide an automated, waterless and shareable solar panel cleaning solution for utility-scale solar parks. Through this solution, Nocca aims to address the less-discussed sustainability challenge of solar energy operations—high financial and environmental costs of keeping solar panels clean.
At present, the cleaning process uses water. Estimates say solar plants run a bill of up to Rs 500 crore annually in order to clean solar plants multiple times a month. Nocca Robotics addresses these issues by providing a waterless robotic cleaning solution to utility solar park developers and large rooftop installation companies in India. In addition to offering easy operability, the product’s shareable feature makes it extremely cost-efficient.
Harshit Rathore, CTO and co-founder, said, “Our waterless and shareable robotic solar panel cleaning solution enables plant owners to operate at peak efficiency, while generating attractive ROIs by curbing unnecessary spending on manual cleaning and increasing power generation.”
Speaking on the investment, Saurabh Srivastava, Controlling and Designated Partner of IAN Fund said, “Nocca Robotics….is well poised to leverage the government’s focus on scaling the country’s solar power generation capacity to 100 GW by 2020. Its innovative, tech-based, unique solution will address the auxiliary challenges associated with solar energy operations.”
Nocca Robotics will leverage the capital infusion to set up a manufacturing facility to create these robots with improved quality control.
The IAN Fund is a seed (or early-stage) fund which aims to transform India’s entrepreneurial landscape.
Source: indianexpress
