ARENA will provide up to 31.1 million to establish solar robotics manufacturing facilities in Melbourne and Brisbane to accelerate large-scale solar farm construction in Australia.

The program, part of Round 2 of ARENA’s Solar Sunshot initiative, aims to bring autonomous solar installation and piling technologies into industrial-scale production in Australia, boosting productivity and strengthening domestic supply chains.

The funding supports two complementary technologies: autonomous solar panel installation robots (LUMIs) and autonomous piling robots for foundation work.

LUMI robots could install modules up to 3.5 times faster than the current workforce and may lower plant costs by around 6% based on earlier figures.

Built Robotics’ pile-driving robots could cut piling time by about 82% and reduce labor costs by roughly 88%, alongside LUMI’s faster panel installation.

The initiative builds on prior field trials, including LUMI’s deployment at Engie’s 250MW Goorambat East project in Victoria, where production rates reportedly exceeded targets.

Luminous previously received AU$4.9 million from ARENA’s Solar ScaleUp Challenge to deploy five LUMI robots at Goorambat East and Neoen’s 440MW Culcairn site in New South Wales, with Equans handling installation at both sites.

ARENA’s Solar ScaleUp grant to Luminous in July 2025 totaled AU$4.9 million for deploying LUMI robots on large-scale solar installations.

The funding supports two autonomous technologies: LUMI solar panel installation robots and autonomous piling robots that drive foundation piles for solar farms.

These initiatives are part of ARENA’s Solar Sunshot Program, a $850 million effort launched in March 2024 to boost innovation, scale, and diversity in Australia’s solar PV manufacturing and supply chains.