Norwegian Drone Technology Takes European Power Grid Inspection Across Borders

Nordic Unmanned and Stellaire combine Norwegian-developed drones, advanced sensors, AI and European flight authorisations to help grid operators inspect more infrastructure, across more countries, with greater speed and precision.

SANDNES, Norway — As Europe accelerates electrification and strengthens the resilience of its energy infrastructure, Nordic Unmanned and Stellaire are bringing a new level of capability to power grid inspection.

The companies have launched their first joint power line inspection operation in Germany, deploying Stellaire's Norwegian-developed Explorer drone system for Bayernwerk, a major German electricity grid operator. The project is carried out in cooperation with Siemens Energy.

The operation marks an important milestone following Stellaire becoming part of Nordic Unmanned in June this year. Together, the companies bring more than advanced inspection technology to the European market: they combine an integrated, AI-powered inspection platform with the regulatory approvals, operational experience and aviation expertise needed to deploy it across borders.

European technology for Europe's critical infrastructure

Electricity grids are among Europe's most important strategic assets. As power demand grows, renewable generation expands and existing infrastructure ages, grid operators face increasing pressure to inspect, maintain and modernise extensive networks.

Stellaire has developed an integrated inspection system specifically designed for these challenges.

Its Explorer drone combines high-resolution optical imaging, thermal imaging and LiDAR in a single flight, capturing detailed data on power lines, surrounding vegetation and infrastructure conditions.

The data is processed through Stellaire's proprietary Grid Analytics platform, using AI-based analytics to transform complex sensor data into actionable insights, including vegetation analysis, 3D models/digital twin and inspection reports delivered in days instead of weeks.

Unlike solutions assembled from off-the-shelf components, Stellaire designs its drones, sensor payloads and analytics software as one integrated system, developed and built in Norway, with cybersecurity considered throughout the development process.

With more than 300,000 kilometres of power line inspection experience behind the technology, the platform has been developed around the practical needs of utility operators.

From Norwegian innovation to European-scale operations

A key barrier to deploying advanced drone inspection technology across Europe has been the complexity of obtaining operational approvals in different countries.

Nordic Unmanned's EASA Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC) helps overcome this challenge by enabling the company to authorise qualifying operations internally and deploy across European borders through the applicable regulatory procedures.

For the German operation, confirmation from the aviation authority was obtained in less than a week.

This combination of technology and operational capability significantly expands where Stellaire's systems can be deployed and how quickly Nordic Unmanned can respond to customer needs.

Ole Benjamin Wike, CEO, Nordic Unmanned & Stellaire said: “Europe needs to strengthen its energy infrastructure, and that requires better information about the assets we depend on. Our ambition is to make advanced, AI-powered drone inspection available to grid operators across Europe, not just in individual national markets. Stellaire brings exceptional technology developed and proven in Norway. Nordic Unmanned brings the aviation approvals, operational organisation and international experience needed to take that technology further. Together, we can cover more infrastructure, enter new markets faster and deliver the reliable data our customers need to make better decisions.”

Built by engineers. Proven in real operations.

The combined organisation represents one of Europe's most experienced teams in complex drone operations, with more than 24,000 beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight hours.

More than 13,000 of those come from Nordic Unmanned's maritime and surveillance operations, while Stellaire contributes more than 11,000 from power line and infrastructure inspection.

Behind these numbers are multidisciplinary teams working across aerospace engineering, robotics, sensor integration, artificial intelligence, software development and aviation operations.

Jimmy Boström, EVP Global Business Development at Stellaire said: “We have spent years developing the complete technology stack in Norway, from the aircraft and sensors to the AI that transforms raw data into useful information for grid operators. But building great technology is only part of the challenge. You also need the ability to operate it safely, efficiently and at scale. Teaming up with Nordic Unmanned gives us that reach. The fact that our German cross-border operation was confirmed in less than a week demonstrates what this combination makes possible. We are now taking Norwegian-developed technology into a much larger European market, and this is only the beginning.”

Expanding across Europe

The German deployment is an important step in Nordic Unmanned and Stellaire's ambition to become a leading European provider of technology-enabled critical infrastructure inspection.

By combining an integrated Norwegian technology platform with an established European aviation organisation, the companies aim to make advanced drone inspection more accessible to transmission and distribution network operators across the continent.

The focus is on helping customers expand inspection coverage, improve infrastructure visibility, identify risks earlier and make better use of the data collected across their networks.

For engineers, software developers, AI specialists and aviation professionals, the expansion also creates opportunities to work on technology that is designed, built and deployed in real-world operations across Europe.

Developed in Norway. Operating across Europe. Helping secure the infrastructure that powers our future.

About Nordic Unmanned

Nordic Unmanned is a Norwegian-headquartered European drone operator specialising in critical infrastructure inspection, maritime surveillance and critical logistics. The company holds an EASA Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC), has operational experience from more than 20 countries and, together with Stellaire, has accumulated more than 24,000 BVLOS flight hours.

www.nordicunmanned.com

About Stellaire

Stellaire develops integrated drone systems, multi-sensor payloads and AI-powered analytics software for power grid inspection. Its Norwegian-developed technology has supported the inspection of more than 300,000 kilometres of power lines. Stellaire became a wholly owned subsidiary of Nordic Unmanned AS in June this year.

www.stellaire.ai