The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has committed up to $3.96 million to support Lab 360 Solar, a University of New South Wales start-up, in developing drone-based technology for inspecting solar farms.
The project, funded under ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program, aims to advance Lab360’s Daylight Photoluminescence (DPL) imaging system, which uses drones to capture high-resolution images of solar panels during the day to identify faults and damage at the cell level.
In a news release, ARENA said the new approach is designed to be more accurate, cost-effective, and easier to deploy than traditional inspection methods, which often require extensive equipment, multiple personnel, and off-site testing.
The DPL technology was originally developed at UNSW through an earlier ARENA-backed research project.
ARENA Chief Executive Darren Miller said the funding reflects the agency’s commitment to supporting local innovation in the solar industry. “Australia has world-class solar researchers and start-ups, but too often their technologies struggle to make the leap from lab to market,” Miller said.
“Supporting great ideas, like Lab360’s DPL technology, to prove their value and scale as commercial solutions that benefit the whole industry, is exactly why we back innovative R&D and why investing early is key to achieving our Ultra Low-Cost Solar vision.”
He added that the technology could play a significant role in improving the efficiency of solar operations. “This technology has the potential to significantly reduce the cost and complexity of solar farm diagnostics. By spotting issues early and reducing the need for heavy equipment and associated labour, this innovation helps operators get the most out of their solar panels and supports Australia’s clean energy future.”
Lab360 CEO Thorsten Trupke said ARENA’s support was critical in helping the company move from research to real-world application.
“Our drone-based Daylight Photoluminescence technology is a result of more than two decades of systematic research and development into luminescence imaging at UNSW,” Dr Trupke said.
“Once rolled out commercially, first in Australia and then globally, it will be central to ensuring that photovoltaic panels are a reliable and sustainable cornerstone of the future energy mix, by enabling better monitoring, early fault detection and long-term performance of solar assets.”
He also noted the significance of commercialising the technology in Australia. “Australia, with its world-leading adoption of solar power and its ambitious trajectory towards net zero, is the perfect place to pioneer and commercialise this innovation. We are genuinely excited to play a small part in the incredible energy transition that is currently taking place.”
