Energy transition: Kitepower cooperates with Greener to generate electricity with kites

Might sound crazy, but works really well: The Dutch company Kitepower generates energy with the help of flying kites. It has a higher efficiency than classic wind turbines, but uses 90% less material! It’s no wonder that even the Dutch Ministry of Defense has taken notice of the spin-off from Delft University. We spoke with founder and CEO Johannes Pechel about the unique technology and the cooperation with Greener, a provider of mobile battery storage.

Johannes, how did you come up with the idea of generating energy with the help of flying kites?

I started kite landboarding in Berlin Tempelhof back in 2013 when the former airfield opened to the public. (Un-) fortunately, I broke my arm one day and in hospital I thought about better ways of using that powerful energy other than to break your bones. I found out that TU Delft was already researching on how kites can produce electricity, so I approached them to find out more. I then started the company a couple of years later as a spin-off from the university.

What advantages does your technology offer compared to – for example – classic wind turbines? 

Conventional wind energy systems rely on generating electricity by means of wind turbines installed onto the ground. Wind turbines require high towers and heavy foundations, thus lots of resources, demanding transportation and installation, whilst being limited to using winds only at lower altitudes.(e.g. up to 80-100 m). Difficult logistics limit the geographical versatility of wind turbines and their constrained height limit their efficiency. The company develops cost-effective alternatives to existing wind turbines by using lightweight kites to generate electricity.

Kitepower’s Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWES) do not require resource-intensive towers nor heavy foundations and are thus easy to transport and deploy. Kite-powered AWES use up to 90% less material than wind turbines with an equivalent power output, whilst being capable of harnessing a wider wind speed range and tapping into stronger and more persistent winds at up to 400m of altitude. The product benefits from a low environmental impact due to the fact that the kite flies at high altitudes which makes the system silent and almost invisible.

Wow, that sound’s great. But there are even more advantages, right?

Moreover, a Kitepower system fits in a 20ft container which makes its transportation very simple and can be easily installed and operated in less than 24 hours. The versatility of AWES opens up new geographical markets for the generation of distributed wind energy and empowers operational sites and communities across remote and rural areas of the world to emancipate themselves from expensive and polluting fossil fuels.

Kitepower’s AWES can be deployed in harsh environments and can generate electricity during day and night, on cloudy and rainy days, assuring higher capacity factors than solar PV and conventional wind turbines. Integrating Kitepower into a microgrid in combination with batteries means the diesel generators can be switched off completely. Hybridizing with airborne wind energy results in less diesel consumption for more clean energy, culminating in considerable financial savings even for areas that do not experience consistent high wind speeds. Kitepower allows a reduction in CO2 emissions by expanding the share of renewable energy powering your microgrid, and can therefore offer businesses an economically viable pathway toward decarbonisation.

There are a few startups that are developing innovative products in this field. You however are already so successful that the Dutch Ministry of Defense has implemented a project with you in the Caribbean. What sets you apart and how did it come about?

There are other great companies out there and we all share the same goal, however Kitepower is special because:

• Strong partners: We outsource most of the production which allows us to keep the team fairly small, consequently keeping the burn rate and risk low, whilst allowing us to scale quickly. On top of that our research partner TU Delft provides us with the fundamental scientific backup to succeed.
• Our system is modular and as simple as it can get: no unnecessary components – which makes it cost effective and flexible at the same time. And the main thing: it works!
• We’re more agile and can react quickly to changes. Kitepower has become marketable based on two core features: simplicity and low cost for repair of any failures.

The technology under the skin of Kitepower’s 100 kW system has been developed at TU Delft since 2004. Flight testing of the 20 kW demonstrator started in 2010 and was continued by Kitepower in 2016, upscaling the technology to 100 kW.

Battery storage is an important topic in the context of renewable energies. You are working together with Greener on this. How did you start working with Greener and what makes your services work so well together?

We have been working with Greener in Aruba and have been testing our systems together for some years now. We think they’re a perfect fit because their big batteries can buffer our cycles and result in a consistent power output 24/7. The batteries can also be deployed easily. There isn’t a 100% renewable temporary power solution on the market yet although certain regulations already demand that for some applications. Solar PV isn’t always an option because it requires space. Kitepower, with its high-capacity factor is the perfect fit.

What were some particular challenges that you had to overcome in the course of your collaboration with Greener and were there any lessons learnt?

We currently require people on site or working remotely to monitor the system because of regulatory issues. This makes our electricity relatively expensive at present.We need to operate the system safely in more locations, get a proven track record to enable us to lower the amount of regulatory staff and then scale up.

In collaboration with Greener you offer a high degree of flexibility to your customers. Why is this important and which customers in particular can you help?

The demand for renewable energy is constantly rising. Generating electricity from solar energy is only possible during daylight – still requiring a battery or diesel supplement during night time.

Furthermore, the installation costs and space requirements of photovoltaic power stations are huge, whilst their resilience is very low. Conventional wind turbines aren’t feasible either due to high transport costs and heavy foundations required.

Kitepower offers mobile wind energy solutions that are easy to transport and install, and only require small ground space (m2). Our systems can be integrated into existing microgrids, such as batteries, solar, diesel or grid. Most importantly, we can deliver electricity more than 75% of the time, a far higher efficiency factor than solar PV (12%) and conventional wind turbines (35%).

With Greener we can serve the whole temporary power spectrum, from customers who require carbon free construction sites to events, mobile EV charging and temporary grid installations.

How is the current gas and electricity crisis affecting your business? It sounds like you could be part of the solution! 

Yes indeed, we started as a niche product generating temporary power in remote locations, but our technology has the potential to play a very big role in the future of energy. Reducing 90 % of the resources necessary to implement traditional wind energy and at the same time having a much smaller environmental impact will make it definitely very competitive.

Contact

Website: https://thekitepower.com

LinkedIn: Johannes Pechel