China’s grid operators plan to purchase thousands of robots in 2026 alone, including devices to inspect and maintain vital infrastructure
China’s industrial giants are rapidly scaling up the use of AI-powered robots to operate vital infrastructure, with the country’s main grid operator unveiling a blockbuster plan to deploy thousands of bots to handle a range of roles – from inspecting remote substations to performing maintenance on ultra-high-voltage power lines.
The firm intends to purchase around 8,500 robots this year, according to an internal company development plan seen by Jiemian.
When similar plans by other Chinese utility firms including China Southern Power Grid are taken into account, industry insiders expect total investment on embodied intelligence in the sector to surpass 10 billion yuan in 2026, according to the report.
The firm will also deploy an army of humanoid and dual-arm robots to perform more high-stakes tasks, including maintaining the country’s rapidly expanding ultra-high-voltage power grid.
About 5.8 billion yuan of State Grid’s investment will go towards procuring hardware, with the remainder allocated to research and development and staff training, according to the report.
Source: News - South China Morning Post
