Flying screwdriver to solve issues for energy companies

The initial idea for the OnGrid drone project came about while three researchers were travelling home by train from the Netherlands. During the trip, they discussed how a drone could solve a problem for Energinet.

The company sends out both cranes and personnel to maintain power pylons and power lines. It is time-consuming and expensive. The problem that the researchers’ drone will initially help solve is replacing a small component on a power pylon. 

There are approximately 60,000 components of this type spread over a few thousand pylons. When the power company sends out a crane to do the job, the electricity in the power lines must be switched off. Even if electricity is running through the wire, the drone can land on it. 

Drone becomes a fancy flying tool

In his PhD project, Nicolaj Haarhøj Malle has developed a drone that charges its battery by grabbing hold of a power line. 

- Many of the technologies we have developed over the past few years to make a drone land on and recharge itself from a power line can be transferred directly to the drone equipped with the tool. The drone is able to autonomously get close to power lines and land on them. Once landed, it can perform a task, the researcher explains.

- Now we’re providing it with a tool that turns it into a fancy flying screwdriver. It can perform tasks with just a single supervisor.

Together with two other research colleagues, Nicolaj Haarhøj Malle is currently developing the drone project into a company that will help Energinet and other power grid operators with practical tasks.

Researcher must learn how to run a business

Nicolaj Haarhøj Malle has joined the Spin-outs Denmark programme as a postdoc because he wants to learn how to run a business.  

- We are three technical guys and don’t know much about developing a business. I’ve spent my entire professional life at university. Here you meet people who are similar to you. It’s different when you’re out meeting investors. It requires another mindset, Nicolaj Haarhøj Malle explains.

- We have a limited time frame to get the business up and running. If it doesn’t work before we run out of money, we’ll have to live frugally or go out of business. But we are very keen to make it work.

The researchers have received funding from the Innovation Foundation - an Innoexplorer - and a postdoc position in Spin-outs Denmark, giving Nicolaj a year of salary and courses.

Good odds for the new business

The extent of high-voltage power lines in Denmark means the odds are good in terms of the company’s earning potential.  

Nicolaj Haarhøj Malle estimates that OnGrid can achieve a potential turnover of around DKK 140 million in Denmark by solving the task of replacing the 60,000 components on the power pylons for Energinet alone.

If they look at the whole of Europe, the possible turnover is DKK 10 billion. At the same time, there is great potential for further development of the drone.

- We currently have twenty potential tasks that Energinet has specifically asked us if we can solve. This involves the drone being able to screw, change, paint, grind and so on, he explains.

In addition to the collaboration with Energinet, the researchers are in touch with a handful of other international businesses that have similar tasks that OnGrid’s drone can solve.

SDU researchers start up companies

The Spin-outs Denmark programme is open to all researchers who want to start a business based on research in the humanities or technical, natural and social sciences early in their career.

As part of the programme, Nicolaj Haarhøj Malle will receive one year of financial and professional support to launch his own business.

His predecessors Kristian Husum Laursen, Ïo Valls-Ratés, Bhushan Patil and Jesper Puggaard de Oliveira Hansen have all been awarded postdoc positions in the programme.

All of them are currently developing businesses based on research into drones, digital voice training, indoor solar cells and customisation of production machinery.