The world needs renewable energy sources to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and current efforts are not enough. Kitepower has developed a cost-effective alternative to traditional wind energy generation by using kites to harvest electricity. It is now possible for everyone to participate in Kitepower's growth and express interest in limited Kitepower shares. The funds will be used to secure the next steps towards the consolidation of a product roadmap capable of disrupting the world of distributed wind energy generation.

The Vision:

The world needs renewable energy sources to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and current efforts are not enough. Kitepower has developed a cost-effective alternative to traditional wind energy generation by using kites to harvest electricity. Kitepower's electricity-generating kites aim to empower remote areas, temporary power supplies and off-grid installations by providing a viable way to decarbonize and therefore accelerate the global energy transition to renewables.

Whether there is a need for optimising solar PV's efficiency or trying to set up a remote micro-grid configuration, Kitepower could very well represent the best available solution in renewables. The versatility of a mobile Kitepower unit, which drastically reduces mass compared to traditional wind turbines, can open up new geographical markets for distributed wind energy generation. The 100 kW system currently in development is ideally suited to be integrated alongside diesel generator sets in remote locations to mitigate dependency on polluting and expensive diesel supply.

After five years of intensive developments - which led to the manufacturing of a 100 kW containerised generator and several 60m2 high-performance kites - Kitepower can now look back at a successful pilot demonstration in the Caribbean, the ideal "habitat" for the Kitepower's Falcon. The recent temporary deployment of Kitepower near the 30MW Vader Piet Wind Farm on Aruba marks a major achievement in the airborne wind energy industry as it represents the very first operation of a kite-powered system on a Caribbean island.

In order to accelerate the transition to renewables, more effective alternatives to fossil fuels must be implemented worldwide. The Delft-based start-up is thus eager to keep demonstrating the capabilities of Kitepower's airborne wind energy technology throughout temporary pilots as well as permanent installations, with the goal of ultimately heading towards a scaled-up system for the Megawatt class. Energy distributors and project developers keen on showcasing and taking advantage of the benefits of airborne wind energy can now submit preorders via preorder.kitepower.nl.
Roland Schmehl, Co-Founder & Advisor of Kitepower, says: "Wind energy can be generated almost 24hrs day even in rain or other harsh conditions. This is particularly suitable for remote locations where you need high mobility and easiness of set-up, and in combination with large batteries to replace polluting diesel generators and to help working on our environmental issues".


The Crowdfunding:

Everyone can now play a vital role in Kitepower's growth by investing alongside a community of impact-driven, like-minded people. Kitepower is collaborating with Crowdcube, one of the world's leading equity crowdfunding platforms, to allow everyone to participate in Kitepower's journey to a smarter energy future. It is now possible to sign up and express interest in limited Kitepower shares (find out more at https://thekitepower.com/crowdfunding). Investments can be made anywhere from 10 EUR up to over 20,000 EUR. The collected funds will be used to secure Kitepower's next steps towards the consolidation of a product roadmap capable to disrupt the world of distributed energy generation.

Johannes Peschel, Founder CEO of Kitepower, says: "Our dream at Kitepower is to generate electricity with kites, we started in 2016 as a spin-off from TU Delft and we have now made this dream reality! We have developed the system, we have tested it and we have deployed it on a Caribbean island and it works beyond our imagination. The business grows every year but we need to make the next big step, we want to show the system to the world, scale up and make clean and affordable electricity available for everybody. With your help we can also make that available for you now".


Kitepower's Airborne Wind Energy Technology

Airborne wind energy is an innovative renewable energy technology which is perfectly suited to remote locations, not least islands and isolated villages. The Kitepower Falcon, extensively tested at Unmanned Valley Valkenburg and in Melissant (Goeree-Overflakkee), offers a mobile wind energy solution that is easy to transport and install with a minimal footprint (m²). Using up to 90% fewer materials than conventional wind turbines with equivalent power output, Kitepower's system can produce electricity on average 75% of the time that it operates, resulting in a higher capacity factor than solar photovoltaic or wind turbine systems.

Kitepower systems generate electricity by means of a kite flying crosswind manoeuvres that pulls on a tether attached to the drum placed within a 100kW ground station. The electricity generation works in two phases , which, repeated in continuous cycles, result in positive net energy output. The energy generated by the system while reeling out (1st phase) is greater than the energy consumed to reel the kite back in (2nd phase).

Joep Breuer, CTO at Kitepower, adds: "We produce electricity with our kites. We have these kites pulling on a tether which is connected to a drum and the rotating motion of the drum is converted to electricity with a generator. Compared to wind turbines we can already produce electricity at low winds and we produce energy day and night, unlike solar panels. The Kitepower system produces electricity at lower costs because we produce more electricity but also because we have less weight and less material so less costs. We have a very lightweight system, compared to wind turbines we are having 90-95% lower mass. This makes our system very mobile and we actually have it a 20ft container that we can easily ship around the world".

Dieter Castelein, Co-Founder and director at Greener Power Solutions affirms "We rent out batteries on locations, together with Kitepower we can deploy these on-site clean energy solutions. We use the batteries that are filled with green energy from the kite and that can replace all of the polluting diesel generators".


About Kitepower:

Kitepower, a leading start-up in airborne wind energy systems (AWES), develops innovative and cost-effective alternatives to existing wind turbines by using kites to generate electricity. Thanks to the company's patented game-changing technology, the Dutch start-up aims to tackle the global energy issue by offering system integrators that operate distributed energy grids a scalable technology that can significantly decrease CO2 emissions, therefore, accelerate the race to zero emissions.
Kitepower (registered trademark of Enevate BV), co-founded in 2016 by Johannes Peschel and TU Delft associate professor Roland Schmehl, is a spin-off from the TU Delft's Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) research group. The company has developed its Airborne Wind Energy System (AWES) with a ‘Fast Track to Innovation' grant from the European Union's Horizon 2020 framework programme, guided by a mentoring partnership with tech incubator YES!Delft and with support from late wind energy expert and angel investor Henk Hutting (1952-2021).

Kitepower was established as a result of the work done by TU Delft's pioneering kite power research group of the former astronaut Wubbo Ockels. Research in AWE generation was initiated by Wubbo Ockels in 1993, followed by a patent application for the Laddermill technology in 1997. Already in 2007, the first 20kW Kitepower system demonstrated the proof of concept. Currently, Kitepower is developing one of the first containerised on-shore AWES to enter the market.


About Crowdcube:

Crowdcube is an equity crowdfunding platform for entrepreneurs of start-ups and growing businesses. Crowdcube enables individuals to invest or loan in small companies in return for equity or an annual return. As an investment crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube enables entrepreneurs to raise finance with the added benefit of being backed by the crowd. For investors, Crowdcube provides a way to handpick a stake in an innovative business that traditionally would have been restricted to corporate investors.

For more information about this topic, please refer to:

Kitepower -Enevate BV
info@kitepower.nl
+31 (0)15 2001420
www.thekitepower.com