Move over robots — there’s a new cleaning method for solar panels
Velocity company optimizes solar energy efficiency using nanotechnology
By
Media Relations
With their abundance of sunlight, deserts are valuable locations to harness solar energy. But in addition to sun, deserts also have an abundance of dust which settles on solar panels and reduces their efficiency.
This is the problem that Miswar Syed’s new company, Swish, is trying to solve with the help of Velocity, the University of Waterloo’s startup incubator.
“I grew up in Saudi Arabia, a place which could be using much, much more solar energy than it does; but solar panels in Saudi deserts are only cleaned a few times a week using robots or water, which gets expensive — the robots use a lot of energy and the water has to be desalinated,” Syed said.
“Swish is making transparent screens that retrofit on an existing solar panel and can remove the dust using nanotechnology — panels can be cleaned multiple times a day with just a flip of a switch.”
He said as an undergraduate student in Saudi Arabia, he questioned why a country so rich in sunlight isn’t fully utilizing it as an energy source, even as the nation is implementing clean energy goals.
“That got me curious: why don't we use [solar energy] as much as we’re supposed to?” Syed said.
Through undergraduate research, one of the answers he got back was the issue of solar panels collecting dust.
Motivated to solve this problem by commercializing the research, Syed said he chose the University of Waterloo for its productive entrepreneurship ecosystem. He joined Velocity on campus earlier this year, and in July won the flagship Velocity $5K pitch competition and GreenHouse’s Social Impact Showcase.
To continue developing the product, Syed anticipates using the equipment of two other Velocity companies that he became aware of after joining Velocity — NanoCnet and Voltera.
“Just because you are good on the [engineering] side doesn’t mean you’ll be a successful entrepreneur or have a successful business,” Syed said. “I don't think there is any other university in the world where I can commercialize the research and get the support I need — it’s all about the ecosystem and [Waterloo’s] is very supportive.”
Syed’s passion for solving this problem is motivated by realism.
“We can achieve net zero with the amount of [clean] energy that’s available, but we are still figuring out how to capture the energy – there are a lot of challenges associated with it still,” Syed said. “I want the clean energy transition to happen, and dust [continues to be] one of the biggest challenges.”
About Velocity
Velocity accelerates entrepreneurs’ growth from idea to early-stage start-up, and beyond. These founders have access to unmatched resources, collaboration space, funding, and an expansive and experienced network made possible only by the University of Waterloo — Canada’s top university for founders. In the 15 years since its inception as a University of Waterloo residence, more than 400 Velocity companies have netted >$26B USD in value.