Xfloat bags $1M grant to advance floating solar technology

Israel-based company Xfloat has secured a $1 million grant to advance its floating solar technology together with the partners from the United States.

The grant, secured through the BIRD Foundation, will be used to build the first pilot installation of Xfloat’s floating solar tackers system in the United States, the company informed.

Xfloat’s proprietary floating solar mounting and tracking systems generate up to 28% more efficient yield than other similar systems with the same power rating, while reducing overall lifetime costs significantly through numerous design and logistics enhancements, the company claims.

The funded pilot will be built in collaboration with the US-based engineering and environmental consultancy RETTEW Associates.

Ran Alcalay, Xfloat’s CEO, said: “This US pilot installation will help spread the awareness of the Xfloat system’s unique advantages in performance, reliability and economic efficiency in the US renewable energy sector.

“It is an important step in our entering the US market, and another validation of Xfloat’s technology and strategy. We are most grateful to the BIRD Foundation for their generous assistance, and for their thorough, professional review of our technology and commercial potential during the selection process.”

BIRD is an acronym for Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development. The BIRD Foundation’s mission is to stimulate, promote and support industrial R&D of mutual benefit to the US and Israel.

The BIRD Energy program, funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Israel’s Ministry of Energy (MoE), and the Israel Innovation Authority, supports joint US-Israel innovations in renewable energy and energy efficiency with significant commercial potential, which can improve economic competitiveness, create jobs, and increase energy security.

To remind, Spanish water utility Miya recently expanded its activities to the renewables sector with the acquisition of a stake in Xfloat.

The move is part of Miya’s growth strategy based on expanding its activities in the field of green energy and efficiency, which at the time, said it sees floating solar technology as an additional way to deliver better results to water utilities around the world ensuring all their assets including water reservoirs are utilized in the most efficient manner.

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