Burns & McDonnell and Gritt have entered into a strategic partnership focused on evaluating and deploying AI-powered robotics technology on utility-scale solar projects. The technology will help improve safety, enhance project predictability and support construction teams as demand for new energy infrastructure continues to grow.
Gritt combines AI and robotics to automate labor-intensive tasks on construction sites. The company builds intelligent systems that can be attached to standard construction equipment, which can then autonomously handle tasks like placing and assembling solar arrays, pouring concrete and laying rebar.
The partnership brings together the integrated EPC capabilities of Burns & McDonnell with Gritt’s AI-powered software and robotics platform to create new opportunities and address labor challenges, improve efficiency and advance innovation in solar construction.
Over the past year, Burns & McDonnell and Gritt have collaborated to evaluate robotic solar installation technologies in real-world construction environments. The companies have tested Gritt’s technology at multiple utility-scale solar sites.
“Solar construction is very repetitive work, lifting 80-lb modules day after day,” said Adam Bernardi, renewables business line director at Burns & McDonnell. “As solar installations continue to grow in scale, we have an opportunity to leverage technology in ways that help our teams work safer, faster and smarter. By helping crews handle some of the most repetitive and physically demanding tasks, Gritt offers a solution that can improve safety while helping us deliver projects more predictably.”
Unlike robotics solutions designed for controlled factory environments, Gritt’s technology is built specifically for outdoor construction sites, where terrain, weather and site conditions can vary significantly. The company’s AI-powered systems are designed to assist crews with repetitive installation activities while continuously learning from field operations.
“The future of construction won’t be humans or robots; it will be humans and robots working together,” said Puneet Puri, CEO and co-founder of Gritt. “Our mission is to help civilization build infrastructure faster. Working alongside leading EPC firms like Burns & McDonnell allows us to deploy our technology in real project environments, learn from experienced builders and continuously improve the intelligence behind our systems. Together, we’re creating tools that can help the industry meet growing infrastructure demands while supporting the workforce that makes it all possible.”
Automation and robotics are getting popular in the solar industry, with companies developing construction aids and panel installation devices. Some recent developments include Xpanner’s devices for skid steers, the Maximo solar panel installation effort by AES and the Terabase automated installer.
Tell Us What You Think!
Facts Only
* Burns & McDonnell and Gritt entered into a strategic partnership focusing on evaluating and deploying AI-powered robotics technology for utility-scale solar projects.
* Gritt combines AI and robotics to automate labor-intensive tasks on construction sites.
* Gritt builds intelligent systems attachable to standard construction equipment for autonomous tasks like placing arrays, pouring concrete, and laying rebar.
* The partnership combines Burns & McDonnell's integrated EPC capabilities with Gritt’s AI platform.
* The companies collaborated over the past year to test robotic solar installation technologies in real-world construction environments at multiple utility-scale solar sites.
* Adam Bernardi stated solar construction involves repetitive work, such as lifting 80-lb modules daily.
* Gritt’s technology is designed for outdoor construction sites where conditions vary significantly.
* Gritt’s AI systems are designed to assist crews with installation activities while learning from field operations.
* Xpanner, AES, and Terabase are mentioned as examples of recent developments in construction aids and panel installation devices.
Executive Summary
Burns & McDonnell and Gritt have formed a strategic partnership to evaluate and deploy AI-powered robotics technology for utility-scale solar projects, aiming to improve safety, predictability, and support construction teams amid growing infrastructure demand. Gritt utilizes AI and robotics to automate labor-intensive tasks by creating intelligent systems attachable to standard equipment, enabling autonomous handling of activities such as placing solar arrays, pouring concrete, and laying rebar.
The collaboration integrates Burns & McDonnell's Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) capabilities with Gritt's AI software and robotics platform to address labor challenges and enhance efficiency in solar construction. The partnership involves real-world testing of Gritt's technology at multiple utility-scale solar sites over the past year.
Adam Bernardi noted that the repetitive nature of solar construction, involving daily lifting of 80-lb modules, presents an opportunity for technology to improve safety and predictability by managing demanding tasks. Gritt’s technology is specifically designed for outdoor construction environments, utilizing AI systems that learn from field operations to assist crews with installation activities despite varying terrain and weather conditions.
Puneet Puri stated the vision is for a future where humans and robots collaborate to build infrastructure faster. The partnership seeks to deploy these tools in real project environments by learning from experienced builders to advance industry capabilities while supporting the workforce.
Full Take
The narrative frames the deployment of advanced robotics not merely as an efficiency gain but as a necessary evolution for managing the physical demands and inherent uncertainties of large-scale infrastructure development. The focus on outdoor application suggests a necessary pivot from factory-centric automation to resilient, adaptive systems capable of handling real-world entropy—weather fluctuations and variable terrain—which inherently shifts the locus of innovation toward contextual intelligence rather than mere mechanical repetition.
The juxtaposition between the desire for speed/efficiency (the promise of automation) and the emphasis on workforce support and learning from builders suggests a tension in the deployment strategy: is the technology primarily an input mechanism to replace physical labor, or is it a mediator designed to augment human expertise amidst complexity? The stated goal—"humans and robots working together"—suggests an attempt to frame the technology as an enabler of human capability rather than a displacement agent. However, any reliance on "learning from experienced builders" introduces potential dependency on established, potentially suboptimal, methods unless the AI’s ability to process context reliably outweighs that experience.
The pattern involves positioning high-tech solutions against the tangible, physical reality of construction labor, leveraging the inherent frustration with repetitive, physically demanding tasks as the primary entry point for adoption. The implication is that progress requires technologies capable of interacting smoothly within messy, real-world constraints, moving beyond idealized simulation into adaptive field intelligence. This dynamic raises questions about who controls the feedback loops—the company deploying the robotics, the EPC firm providing context, or the field workers themselves—in determining the final quality and safety margin of the constructed infrastructure.
Bridge Questions: If AI systems continuously learn from diverse field operations, what specific metrics are used to define "smarter" installation that supersede traditional measures of speed and cost? How does the reliance on integrating experience from human builders mitigate the risk that novel algorithmic interpretations might overlook critical, non-quantifiable site risks? What ownership structures govern the proprietary knowledge gained during real-world deployment by the partner firms versus the technology provider?