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Data Insights Robotics in power: automatic solar tracking

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 83,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the power industry, there are 45+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Automatic solar tracking is a key innovation area in robotics

Automatic solar tracking devices are a more advanced technology for mounting solar PV panels. The devices’ active sensors continuously monitor the sun’s position throughout the day, rotating the screen in the direction where the amount of sunlight is at its strongest and increase the performance and efficiency of the solar power plant.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies.  According to GlobalData, there are 310+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established power companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of automatic solar tracking.

Key players in automatic solar tracking – a disruptive innovation in the power industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.   

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.  

Patent volumes related to automatic solar tracking

Flex is a leading patent filer in automatic solar tracking. The company provides design, engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain services, including printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication. It offers consumer devices, optical products, power supply design solutions, solar tracker and software solutions, circular economy solutions, and distribution and logistics services. Flex markets its products and services under the Farm, Infinex, MCi, NEXTracker, Sheldahl, Sonderborg Vaerktojsfabrik, and Irumold brand names. In August 2023, NEXTracker and Asteelflash/USI announced the grand opening of Asteelflash’s US manufacturing line for Nextracker. In March 2023, NEXTracker signed a volume commitment agreement with Strata Clean Energy for 810MW of solar trackers. Some other key patent filers in the automatic solar tracking space include Sunfolding, Array Technologies, and Nextracker.

In terms of application diversity, Power Construction Corporation of China leads the pack, while Arctech Solar and Ecoppia Scientific stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Nexans held the top position, followed by The Boeing.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the power industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Robotics in Power.

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.