The Innovation Award we received in October 2022 at SMAU is the culmination of a long and hard journey. In this article we want to tell you about it.
A year ago we were at SMAU as mere exhibitors. Lots of projects in the pipeline, but still a long way to go. This year we were back at SMAU: the road we had travelled led us straight to the podium to collect the Innovation Award, destined for the six most innovative start-ups in Italy.A difficult but also very rewarding path: because behind this growth lies all the strength of a dream come true. Let's tell you how.
SMAU MILAN 2022. Keyword: Innovation
Smau is the point of reference throughout Italy in the field of innovation and start-ups.
On 12th October 2022, we received the Innovation Award during SMAU, in Milan, together with A2a. It was an opportunity to bring our journey and our success to a prestigious stage and share it with those who already work, or want to work, in the field of innovation.
The strength of SMAU is precisely this: to tell of models and experiences from which to draw and to touch.
The event in Milan was in fact an event that involved people, start-ups and companies to connect them with potential partners with whom to develop ideas and projects, exploring new business horizons.
SandStorm: a revolutionary technology at the energy service
If last year we took part in Smau Milano to present our project, in 2022 we were called to the stage to talk about, together with A2a, what has turned out to be a winning technology: the SandStorm robot, studied and designed to optimise the dry cleaning of photovoltaic panels.
SandStorm was created to respond to a real need: to replace the manual cleaning of panels, usually carried out 2 to 4 times a year with osmosis water, with a continuous process, reducing the waste of water and resources.
There are, in fact, several agents that contribute to the formation of the dirt layer of the panels and that decrease their effectiveness, up to 35%.
Thanks to the principles of artificial intelligence and unparalleled attention to detail, from design to storage to handling and transport, SandStorm turned out to be 'a small masterpiece of computer and mechanical engineering', as stated by REIWA's founders, Salvo Salerno and Salvatore Occhipinti.
From the laboratory to the field: experimentation with A2a and future prospects
SandStorm is a technology born in the laboratory and perfected in the field, through a long and thorough testing phase. This represents its main strength, which was also identified by A2a, which decided last year to test SandStorm in its photovoltaic plants in Lazio and Sardinia by starting an experimentation.
A journey that began with the 2020 Challenge for Sicily, launched by A2a to discover innovative Sicilian realities with which to enhance the territory's sustainable transition and won by REIWA with SandStorm.
The results of SandStorm in the field were promising: the robot proved to be capable of cleaning sloping surfaces, operating on various gradients.
After the SMAU Innovation Award, we are moving towards new goals, thanks to the support of strategic partners such as A2a, with the aim of making a concrete improvement in the renewables sector.
These include the development of a multi-purpose technology that can also perform predictive and preventive functions, ensuring greater plant safety.
The energy sector is constantly evolving and we are ready to make our contribution, continuing to do research and experiment in the field.
