Skip to main content
Pilot process · How we work

From enquiry,
to Australian evidence.

Every coating engagement at SolarShield runs the same five-step pilot pathway — compliance review, site assessment, pilot design, controlled application and monitored reporting. The interactive estimator below lets you size the indicative annual impact for your asset before we start a formal conversation.

Pilot at a glance

Process steps
5

Compliance → Site → Design → Application → Monitoring

Typical pilot duration
~7 months

First enquiry to first paired-sample report

Conservative uplift assumption
+3.0%

Anchored to Tier 2 disaggregated net-coating effect

Steps · Estimator · Timeline · Engagement

Explore

The pilot pathway · 01

Five steps, every output named.

Each step has a named owner, an indicative duration in weeks and a concrete deliverable set. No hand-waving between phases, no surprises at handover.

SolarShield-owned phase

Joint (SolarShield + site partner)

Site-partner-owned phase

P-0101

Product & compliance review

SolarShield

Before any product touches an Australian site we run an internal compliance scoping pass — AICIS pathway, Australian-format SDS / GHS, dangerous-goods classification, HS code, COA / COO, panel-manufacturer warranty position and ARC-glass compatibility for the candidate formulation.

Duration

Weeks 0 – 2

Indicative — varies by site complexity

Deliverables

  • AICIS scoping note
  • SDS / GHS gap analysis
  • Customs / DG classification review
  • Warranty-position summary
P-0202

Site assessment

Joint

We characterise the asset across the same four axes used on `/applications` — asset class, climate zone, dominant soiling profile and operational constraints. Includes panel-tech survey, access study, cleaning baseline review and existing monitoring infrastructure check.

Duration

Weeks 2 – 4

Indicative — varies by site complexity

Deliverables

  • Application-profile match
  • Climate / soiling profile
  • Constraint inventory
  • Baseline cleaning + monitoring audit
P-0303

Pilot design

SolarShield

Controlled-trial design under the AU pilot protocol on `/methodology`. Paired A/B panels at same string, same orientation, same inverter. Coating mechanism and deployment mode are matched to the site profile. Monitoring instrumentation specified.

Duration

Weeks 3 – 5

Indicative — varies by site complexity

Deliverables

  • Twin-panel A/B layout
  • Mechanism + deployment selection
  • Monitoring instrumentation plan
  • Statistical reporting plan
P-0404

Controlled application

Joint

Coating application under documented SOP — pre-clean, surface preparation, coating deposition, curing, photographic record per panel and batch traceability. PPE, working-at-heights and spill-control protocols per Australian site safety standards.

Duration

Weeks 5 – 6

Indicative — varies by site complexity

Deliverables

  • Installation record
  • Batch traceability log
  • Per-panel photo set
  • Site safety documentation
P-0505

Monitoring & reporting

Joint

String-level power output recorded daily under independent data logger where available. Irradiance and temperature normalisation per IEC 61724-1 conventions. Minimum 3-month, target 6-month window. Paired-sample statistical analysis at close-out.

Duration

Weeks 6 – 26

Indicative — varies by site complexity

Deliverables

  • Daily string-level data
  • Monthly inspection log
  • Paired-sample statistics
  • Customer-approved AU case study

Indicative ROI estimator · 02

Order-of-magnitude impact, transparently.

Adjust the inputs to your asset. The estimator returns an indicative annual benefit using a transparent formula and the disaggregated net-coating effect disclosed in our controlled overseas A/B trials. Australian site outcomes still require local pilot validation.

Indicative · Tier 2 · AU pilot required

Inputs

kW

From small commercial rooftops to utility-scale farms.

kWh / kWp · yr

Indicative AU range 1200 – 1800. Higher in Far North, lower in Tasmania.

A$ / kWh

Use your behind-the-meter offset price or PPA tariff.

A$ / yr

Set to 0 if you do not currently clean.

Sites in this profile typically sit near the central–optimistic end of supplier-reported cleaning savings (raw-material handling, metal dust). Informational — does not change the math.

Scenario

Lower end of the disaggregated net-coating effect disclosed in controlled overseas A/B trials. Cleaning-interval reduction at the cautious end of the supplier-reported range.

Indicative annual impact

$12,330/ yr

Revenue uplift + cleaning-cost savings, combined, indicative.

Energy uplift

43,500 kWh / yr

3% of 1,450,000 kWh annual generation

Revenue uplift

$7,830

Energy uplift × $0.2 / kWh

Cleaning savings

$4,500

15% of $30,000 annual cleaning cost

Take this into a pilot enquiry
Show the math+
Annual generation   = capacity × specific yield
                    = 1,000 kW × 1,450 kWh/kWp
                    = 1,450,000 kWh/yr

Energy uplift       = annual generation × uplift %
                    = 1,450,000 kWh × 3%
                    = 43,500 kWh/yr

Revenue uplift      = energy uplift × electricity price
                    = 43,500 kWh × $0.2/kWh
                    = $7,830

Cleaning savings    = cleaning cost × saving %
                    = $30,000 × 15%
                    = $4,500

Combined benefit    = revenue uplift + cleaning savings
                    = $12,330 / yr

Indicative only. Uplift and cleaning-saving assumptions are anchored to the disaggregated net-coating effect disclosed in our controlled overseas A/B trials (Tier 2). They are not Australian-pilot- proven figures. Site-specific performance depends on dominant soiling, climate exposure, panel technology, cleaning baseline and application method. Coating pricing is quoted site-specifically; this estimator does not commit SolarShield or any partner to specific commercial outcomes.

Pilot timeline · 03

~6 months, enquiry to evidence.

A typical Australian pilot runs about six months from first enquiry to the first paired-sample report. The monitoring tail is the longest phase — it has to be, because that’s where Tier 2 supplier data becomes Tier 1 Australian evidence.

Read the chart

  • · Each bar = one phase, sized to its indicative week range
  • · Overlap shows where phases run in parallel
  • · Monitoring extends to weeks 6 – 26 (minimum 3-month target)

P-01

Product & compliance review

Weeks 0 – 2

P-02

Site assessment

Weeks 2 – 4

P-03

Pilot design

Weeks 3 – 5

P-04

Controlled application

Weeks 5 – 6

P-05

Monitoring & reporting

Weeks 6 – 26

Engagement model · 04

Commercial framework on the table.

Pilots only work if both sides know how it’s structured. Who pays for what, who owns the data, how IP is handled and what happens after the pilot is published — clearly stated before the engagement starts.

E-01

Pilot cost-share, transparent quote

Pilot deployments are quoted site-specifically against the application, mechanism, deployment mode and monitoring instrumentation involved. We share the breakdown — material, application labour, monitoring, reporting — and offer cost-share where the pilot becomes a co-authored AU reference case.

E-02

Data ownership shared

Pilot data is co-owned by SolarShield and the site partner. The site partner approves any AU case study before it is published, and supplier or customer identities are anonymised by default per our existing publication policy.

E-03

IP & confidentiality

Coating formulations remain the supplier partner's IP. Site-specific data, application records and pilot reports are handled under NDA. SolarShield documents which IP applies to which formulation as part of supplier due diligence.

E-04

Path to commercial rollout

If the pilot meets the agreed performance threshold, the engagement progresses to a commercial proposal scoped to the rest of the site portfolio or asset fleet. No commitment to rollout is implied by participating in the pilot.

Next step · 09

Take the estimate
into a pilot conversation.

The numbers above are an order-of-magnitude indicator. The real conversation needs your asset details, your climate zone, your cleaning baseline and your monitoring infrastructure. Tell us those and we'll come back with a candidate formulation, a pilot design and a transparent quote.