Welcome Aerones: Intelligent Robotics for a Resilient Grid

The world’s transition to clean energy is accelerating — but so are the demands placed on the infrastructure that powers it. Wind energy now accounts for nearly 10% of global electricity generation and is poised to double by 2030. Yet behind this momentum is an urgent need to rethink how wind turbines are maintained, optimized, and made more resilient.

That’s why we’re thrilled to welcome Aerones, a global leader in robotic inspection, maintenance, and AI-powered diagnostics for wind turbines, to the S2G portfolio. In our view, Aerones is redefining how wind assets are managed by bringing intelligent automation to one of the fastest-growing and operationally strained sectors of the clean energy economy.

Solving for Wind’s Hidden Bottleneck

Despite advances in generation and turbine design, maintenance remains one of the wind industry’s most persistent operational constraints. Today, the majority of blades on wind turbines are still serviced manually, requiring rope access technicians to climb hundreds of meters to perform inspections and repairs. These processes are time-intensive, weather-sensitive, and carry significant safety risks. They also often lead to inconsistent outcomes and prolonged downtime that impact energy output and revenue.

As global wind capacity grows, these challenges are compounding. Asset owners now manage increasingly complex and geographically dispersed fleets, many of which are aging and exposed to intensifying environmental conditions. Larger turbine blades and taller towers bring new performance and durability risks, while a global shortage of qualified maintenance personnel has led to costly repair backlogs.

These pressures are forcing the industry to evolve from reactive, labor-heavy maintenance toward scalable, data-driven, and proactive solutions that can keep pace with demand and ensure energy delivery is not interrupted by operational inefficiencies. This is the bottleneck Aerones was built to solve.

Powering Precision at Scale

Founded in Latvia and now operating globally, Aerones — a graduate of Y Combinator’s Winter 2018 (W18) batch — has developed a unified platform that combines patented robotics, AI-powered analytics, and predictive diagnostics to support the full wind turbine lifecycle, from factory and in-field inspections and cleaning to repair and performance optimization.

At the core of Aerones’ offering is its robotic Leading Edge Repair system, a highly differentiated and proprietary technology that enables high-quality, efficient, and consistent blade repair. Specialized robotic units can be deployed much faster than traditional methods and operate in a wider range of weather conditions, significantly reducing service delays and safety risks. By minimizing the need for manual rope-access work, the system improves technician safety and dramatically reduces turbine downtime.

Complementing this hardware is a robust, AI-driven software stack that collects and analyzes real-time operational data across fleets. This intelligence allows operators to shift from reactive maintenance to predictive strategies that extend asset life and address performance issues before they escalate. The result is a platform that improves energy output, enhances operational visibility, and reduces maintenance costs at scale. 

This technology is already utilized by some of the world’s largest wind operators, including GE Vernova, Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, Enel, and NextEra, underscoring Aerones’ readiness to serve the global energy transition.

“As a supplier, Aerones has provided us with various robotic solutions for wind turbine blade inspections and maintenance, and we’ve seen steady progress in both their technology and service delivery. Their technology is helping to address safety and services productivity in wind farms around the globe,” commented Veronica Barner, Wind Energy Product Executive at GE Vernova.

In 2025, Aerones is projected to service over 10,000 turbines. Additionally, since 2020, the company has:

• Enabled nearly 400,000 MWh of additional clean electricity
• Avoided over 165,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions
• Completed turbine servicing projects 4x faster with 10x less idle time compared to traditional methods

With the recent opening of a new U.S. hub in Dallas, Aerones is scaling its North American footprint and expanding its global operations. The company is also ramping up manufacturing and investing further in R&D to advance its robotics and AI capabilities. We think these moves position Aerones to meet the increasing demand for intelligent, automated wind maintenance as clean energy adoption accelerates worldwide.

Partnering to Scale Aerones’ Vision

At S2G, we invest in solutions that unlock step-change improvements in productivity, safety, and sustainability. We believe that enabling the energy transition requires existing infrastructure to operate at higher efficiency and reliability, and Aerones is addressing this head-on. 

By solving for one of the most critical and often overlooked operational constraints in wind energy, the company delivers a scalable solution that we believe improves both financial and climate outcomes. In an industry where delays can add up to gigawatt hours of lost production, Aerones seeks to help asset owners stay ahead of the risk while unlocking greater value from every turbine.

In addition to providing growth capital, we look forward to supporting Aerones through our broader ecosystem and connecting them with strategic partners, technical collaborators, and customers who can benefit from or accelerate their mission. From shared insights across our energy portfolio to partnership opportunities with operators and OEMs, we are committed to helping Aerones scale effectively.

We are proud to welcome Aerones to the S2G portfolio and excited to support the next chapter of their journey. With demonstrated results, a visionary leadership team, and a platform built for global scale, we view Aerones as being well-positioned to play a pivotal role in the future of wind energy and in the broader story of infrastructure modernization for a cleaner grid.