Signature of a Memorandum of Understanding Between Drone Volt and Hydro-quebec for a Technology of the Future

DRONE VOLT, an embedded artificial intelligence expert and manufacturer of professional civil drones, and Hydro-Québec, Canada’s largest electricity producer and one of the world’s leading hydropower producers, have signed a memorandum of understanding to reach an agreement on the exclusive industrial development and marketing of a drone designed to inspect high-voltage power transmission lines. The drone is unique in that it can take very precise measurements on live lines using sensors developed by the teams at Hydro-Québec’s research center. With this technology, the work can be carried out without interrupting service.

Thanks to this solution, workers face considerably fewer risks and the number of traditional helicopter inspections is reduced, resulting in less GHG emissions. Once the industrial and commercial partnership agreement is finalized, DRONE VOLT will be able to market the drone throughout the world.

“For several months, DRONE VOLT’s strategy has been to focus on the inspection of power grids, and this agreement attests to our know-how in this area,” stated DRONE VOLT CEO and Chairman Olivier Gualdoni. “Moreover, Hydro-Québec, which has been carrying out various sustainable development initiatives for decades, made the decision to pursue discussions with a company that shares its values.”

“Hydro-Québec’s research center is developing many state-of-the-art technologies in different fields, in particular robotics,” noted Jean Matte, Senior Director of the research center. “Our drone technology allows us to safely inspect high-voltage lines in a wide range of geographic and climatic conditions without compromising continuity of service. We have been testing this technology on our own facilities for some years now and it has proven its effectiveness in simplifying our activities.”