Construction tech startup Xpanner has introduced the new X1 Piling R6, a fully automated pile driving system for utility-scale solar and battery energy storage sites.
While conventional pile driving requires a two-person crew plus a separate survey, marking and prep work team, Xpanner says the X1 Piling R6 folds those steps into one automated cycle to let one operator do the work of two, while standing safely away from the mast.
The X1 Piling R6 combines Everstar’s R6 crawler pile driver with Xpanner’s X1 automation stack. To start the automated piling sequence, operators upload the pile plan, walk the machine to the row and press one button. X1 then travels to each pile, aligns, hammers and holds the pile plumb while the operator supervises from a remote controller.
The X1 Piling R6 uses GNSS antennas and receivers, precision sensors, and an Xpanner-developed automation controller to automate pile positioning, as well as driving to the required location and elevation. Progress and as-built records are automatically tracked on one shared project map as the machine moves along the jobsite.
The X1 automation stack is carried over from Xpanner's PD10 platform. On the R6, system delivers a 45% faster cycle time than the prior generation, the company says.
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Key capabilities include:
- Power for hard ground: The X1 Piling R6 is powered by a 130-horsepower engine and a high-frequency hydraulic hammer with up to 929 foot-pounds of impact energy and three energy settings to match soil conditions.
- Fine positioning without tramming: The guide rail slides 11.8 inches forward and back and 19.7 inches left and right, and the upper body rotates 180 degrees, putting the hammer on target from a single setup.
- Range of pile lengths: The X1 Piling R6 can handle piles up to 23 feet long, with a maximum driving depth of 15.7 feet. Because the hammer lowers near the ground and piles can be driven flush to grade, the machine can handle a range of piles without an adapter, including standard tracker piles, short motor piles and BESS foundation piles.
- Jobsite ready: Additional features include a large fuel tank for long shifts, engine auto-idle, a large-capacity cooler, manual override and e-stop. No mast disassembly is required for transport.
"Solar and BESS builders are racing to bring new power online for the grid and for AI data centers, and they can't find enough skilled crews to keep up," said Henri Lee, co-founder & CEO of Xpanner. "X1 lets one operator drive every pile plumb with a single touch, keeps people away from the mast, and logs each pile as it goes in. It takes the automation EPCs already trust on PD10 and puts it on a more powerful, more versatile machine."
The X1 connects to Xpanner Connect, a web-based project dashboard for project planning, progress tracking and machine monitoring. Project teams can load the pile schedule and coordinates, assign machines and set up a site in minutes, the company says. As X1 works, it records each pile's position, depth and plumb and posts it to a live project map, replacing manual reporting. Managers can also remotely monitor machine status, cycle counts and alerts across the fleet.
The X1 Piling R6 will have future capabilities to which include DTH drilling, auger drilling and ground screwing on the same carrier, so one machine can pre-drill and drive.
The X1 Piling R6 is available now, through the Xpanner subscription. One agreement covers the machine, the X1 automation kit, Xpanner Connect and Xpanner On-Site Support, with service delivered directly by Xpanner from demo and site validation through training, operation and maintenance. During site validation, Xpanner reviews each customer's pile schedule to confirm reveal heights and embedment.
