Grid mod company raises $23M for power line construction, grid capacity

Infravision, a company focused on power grid modernisation with drone-enabled power line upgrades, announced it has raised $23 million in Series A financing.

The round was led by investment firm Energy Impact Partners (EIP), with participation from leading energy and utility players including Equinor Ventures and Edison International.

The capital is meant to enable Infravision to accelerate the expansion of its proprietary field robotics powerline stringing system and grid monitoring solutions to utilities and contractors in North America and globally, invest in current and prospective employees and scale operations in North America.

Infravision was recently selected by Pacific Gas and Electric Company, along with 53 other organisations, for the utility’s first Innovation Pitch Fest, a new research, development (R&D) and innovation initiative focused on bridging the gap between today’s energy system and California’s electrified and decarbonized future.

“It is estimated that 10 million miles of new power lines are required by 2030 to reach net-zero targets, which is roughly equivalent to building the entire US and Canadian power grids again, which took us a century, in seven years,” said Van Der Berg, CEO of Infravision.

“We’re confident Infravision’s proven technology is the solution for today and for the future of power line construction automation and grid efficiency.”

Have you read:
NYSEG to pilot transmission line monitoring
Transmission lines construction can be speeded up in GB – report

Infravision currently serves some of the largest electric utilities in North America and Australia including Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which was North America’s first utility to leverage the TX System. It was used to conduct energised power line stringing over urban areas north of San Francisco and reactively during the 2023 storm season, more quickly than traditional means.

“Transmission is the backbone of the clean energy transition,” said Sergej Mahnovski, managing director of strategy, technology and innovation at Edison International.

“Currently it can take more than a decade to build a new transmission line, so the pace of expansion must increase quickly for California to meet the goal of 100% net zero carbon emission by 2045. Infravision’s drone solutions offer safe, fast, affordable ways to accelerate the huge transmission buildout we need, so we’re proud to support Infravision and their transformational technology that will help decarbonise the grid.”

Infravision has operational presence and facilities in Austin, Texas and San Francisco, California, as well as New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.

Originally published by Sean Wolfe on Power Grid.