Saudi Aramco and start-up partner on waterless solar cleaning solutions

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
NOMADD will distribute the new technology across Saudi Arabia. Credit: Saudi Aramco

Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas giant Saudi Aramco has enlisted locally-owned technology start-up NOMADD Desert Solar Solutions to develop waterless cleaning solutions for solar PV.

Under the technology licensing agreement, Saudi Aramco will allow NOMADD to integrate its own fully-automated waterless solar cleaning system with the cleaning system developed by Saudi Aramco’s R&D team based at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Traditional solar module cleaning can be very water-intensive, so a waterless solution would be highly suitable for the water-scarce desert environments of the Middle East.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

NOMADD, which also happens to be funded by KAUST, will distribute the new technology across Saudi Arabia.

Back in January, it emerged that Saudi Aramco was bringing in foreign financiers to advise on a possible US$5 billion transition into a clean energy future as oil prices continued to plummet.

Jos van der Hyden, founder and chief executive officer of NOMADD, said: “NOMADD is excited to partner with Saudi Aramco, KAUST and other local institutions to bring this vision to fruition. NOMADD is gaining strong commercial traction in the solar industry, winning several industry awards for technology and leadership in the field.”

This year has seen Saudi Arabian solar announcements concerning auctions, monitoring services, and net metering.

Read Next

November 5, 2024
Solar PV infrastructure company Desert Technologies intends to build a solar cell and module assembly plant in Saudi Arabia.
October 24, 2024
Arctech has signed a deal to provide 2.3GW of its Skyline II solar trackers to ACWA Power’s Haden project in Saudi Arabia.
October 23, 2024
The fifth round of the National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) sought proposals for 3.6GW of solar PV capacity across four projects.
October 16, 2024
Advances in AI will lead to a “paradigm shift” in solar asset management, with a range of complex analytics and plant performance processes becoming as simple as talking to a chatbot.
Premium
October 16, 2024
PV Talk: Govinda Upadhyay, CEO of SmartHelio, gives Ben Willis a sneak preview of an AI-based tool that he believes could herald a “paradigm shift” in tackling PV plant underperformance.
October 10, 2024
JinkoSolar has signed a supply deal with Saudi Arabian power developer ACWA Power to provide 3GW of TOPCon PV modules.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
November 12, 2024
San Diego, USA
Solar Media Events, Upcoming Webinars
November 13, 2024
4pm GMT / 8am PST
Solar Media Events
November 19, 2024
Philadelphia, USA
Solar Media Events
November 20, 2024
Zhuhai, China
Solar Media Events
November 21, 2024
London, UK