Industrial Drones
Discover cutting-edge solutions from 31 leading global suppliersShadowVu, an innovator in lightweight industrial drone technology, is partnering with Northern Powergrid to deliver a new fleet of advanced sub-250g drones designed specifically for industrial and commercial applications.
The collaboration will see ShadowVu supply an initial 50 units of field-repairable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Northern Powergrid by the end of the year.
Northern Powergrid manages the electricity distribution network serving 8 million people across the North East of England, Yorkshire, and northern Lincolnshire.
The company will use ShadowVu drones for a variety of inspection, monitoring, and autonomous missions, including flood assessments and infrastructure checks.
ShadowVu’s unique drone platforms are field-repairable with minimal tools and built with high-quality, long-life components. Equipped with precision GPS and dual telemetry for safer, more reliable operations, the drones are engineered for extreme durability and have withstood repeated crash tests during development.
The sub-250g weight class allows for greater operational flexibility under UK and international drone regulations, while still providing industrial-level robustness. This classification enables deployment in public spaces without the strict certification requirements imposed on heavier UAVs.
With longer operational life, reduced maintenance requirements, and in-field repairability, ShadowVu’s solutions are reported to offer a significant cost advantage over traditional consumer drone fleets.
Jim Thomson, CEO and founder of ShadowVu, commented, “This partnership validates everything we’ve built ShadowVu to stand for. Northern Powergrid had been searching for 18 months to find a solution fit for its demanding needs. They chose ShadowVu because we’re delivering what others can’t – a truly industrial-grade performance in a compact, sub-250g form factor.”
Mark Pollard, Northern Powergrid’s contract lead and Field Systems Manager, added, “Through our robust procurement process, we’ve secured a contract that will enable us to grow our fleet with drones that are bespoke to our needs.
“This contract will help ensure we have a robust and reliable fleet of drones that our teams can easily utilise in the field. They will support our major incident response as well as our network inspection programme by providing vital information enabling informed decisions to be made when coordinating storm responses as well as supporting our future maintenance and investment plans so we can continue to provide a safe and resilient power network for our customers.”
