Xpanner’s new X1 solar panel lift system automates repetitive panel handling so installation crews can focus on alignment, fastening and quality.
The X1 Panel Lift is an intelligent, excavator-based panel installation system created to address one of the solar industry’s most persistent limitations: the availability of skilled labour.
The platform, previously deployed on pile drivers for solar piling applications, has now been expanded to automate panel lifting and placement.
Utility-scale solar projects depend on large crews to manually carry, position and place heavy panels across thousands of module locations. The work is physically demanding and requires ongoing training to meet project timelines.
The X1 Panel Lift is designed to tackle repetitive material handling directly, allowing installation crews to spend their time on the higher-value work of aligning, fastening and quality-checking each panel.
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“Solar installation has long been held back by its dependence on large skilled crews and complex equipment setups,” said Henri Lee, Co-Founder and CEO of Xpanner.
“Our solution changes that equation entirely, and now handles not just solar piling, but panel lifting as well. One machine, one button, one workflow, any operator can run it from day one.”
The X1 Panel Lift transports the PV panel box, picks panels directly from it and installs them using a single excavator, without the need for separate feeder equipment such as a compact track loader or forklift. By combining panel transport, pick and placement into one machine, X1 reduces equipment requirements and specialized roles a project needs to stay productive.
One button workflow
Its one-button automated workflow guides the operator through the full installation sequence, pick-up, lifting, placement and pre-release, through a visual interface.
X1 automates repetitive panel handling while keeping the operator in full control through a simple remote interface. Rather than replacing the installer, the system assists the crew with automated vacuum handling and assisted panel positioning, while the built-in Precision Align Assist helps ensure consistent, uniform panel placement across every cycle.
Sensor-controlled handling is designed to maintain the same precision and pace from the first panel to the last, and a standardized installation sequence with audible and visual cues helps crews follow a repeatable process on every job.
The system’s remote operation keeps personnel clear of the load path during lifts, and its standardized, sensor-guided sequence is intended to make each installation cycle more predictable and controlled.
The X1 is powered by Mango, Xpanner’s proprietary automation controller built for real-time decision-making and precision control across hydraulic, electric and mechanical systems. The system fuses data from LIDAR, vision and GNSS sensors to build a live 3D model of the jobsite, giving it the situational awareness needed to hold consistent output across variable field conditions.
Xpanner’s automation software and sensing stack sits on top of a standard excavator. The company plans to extend the same architecture to additional jobsite workflows over time, delivering new capabilities to existing customers through software updates rather than new equipment requirements.
Xpanner offers the X1 Panel Lift under a single, all-inclusive subscription that covers hardware, the X1 kit and license, Xpanner Connect software and on-site field operations support (XFO). The subscription includes Xpanner Connect, a real-time dashboard that gives project managers live visibility into machine status, production progress and fleet activity.
