Burns & McDonnell and Gritt have entered a strategic partnership to evaluate and deploy AI-powered robotics on utility-scale solar construction projects. The collaboration aims to improve safety, enhance project predictability, and support construction teams amid rising demand for new energy infrastructure.
Gritt’s technology combines AI and robotics to automate labor-intensive tasks, attaching intelligent systems to standard construction equipment to autonomously handle solar array placement, concrete pouring, and rebar laying. Unlike factory robots, these systems are designed for outdoor sites, adapting to variable terrain and weather while continuously learning from field operations.
Over the past year, the companies tested Gritt’s technology at multiple utility-scale solar sites. Burns & McDonnell’s renewables business line director, Adam Bernardi, highlighted the repetitive nature of solar construction—lifting 80-pound modules daily—and sees robotics as a way to help crews work safer, faster, and smarter. The partnership leverages Burns & McDonnell’s EPC capabilities with Gritt’s AI platform to address labor challenges and improve efficiency.
Key takeaways
- AI-powered robots attached to standard equipment automate repetitive tasks like module placement, concrete pouring, and rebar work.
- Systems are built for outdoor conditions, learning from real-world field data to improve performance.
- Partnership aims to improve safety, predictability, and address labor shortages in solar construction.
- Technology is seen as scalable across broader infrastructure projects beyond solar.
The companies view this as an early step toward broader adoption of physical AI in construction, where humans and robots work together. As Gritt’s CEO Puneet Puri notes, the future is not humans or robots, but humans and robots collaborating to build infrastructure faster.
Source: Robotics & Automation News (roboticsandautomationnews.com) · Published 2026-08-26 · “Burns & McDonnell and Gritt partner to deploy AI-powered robots on solar construction sites”