Latest: July 18th To develop new control strategies and kite designs we have developed a new kite/drone physics simulation. Detailed description.

What are you making?

We build a new type of wind turbine that utilises drone technology to autonomously control a flying wing tethered to the ground. The Airbone Wind Turbine (AWT) can generate energy using a fraction of the material a Conventional Wind Turbine (CWT) requires. This translates into lower costs and simpler maintenance.

Pitch

We (unsuccesfully) applied to YCombinator, a Silicon Valley accelerator program, to join the summer 2017 batch. The application gives a good overall insight into what we are doing, in order not duplicate the description and for those interested in the actual application we have decided to put it online as is S2017 batch Application .

In case you have unanswered technical questions we have tried to answer most of them on up front critical questions

Why are kites better?

Conventional wind turbines are often a preferred solutions when creating new power plants due their low cost of energy and low environmental impact. Using kites as a mean of capturing wind energy has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of energy, not just compared to other renewable sources.

The amount of energy that you can extract from the wind is broadly proportional to the swept area (the area that e.g. the wings of a wind turbine cover as they rotate). Using a large kite tethered to the ground you can cover the same swept area as the wings of a traditional wind turbine using a significantly lighter support structure. The tether replaces most of the tower and foundation, as well as the inner parts of the wings (which capture very little energy).

Computing power

While kites have been used to harness the power of the wind for utilitarian purposes since ancient times (lifting men, pulling cargo etc) wind power stations using kites are only appearing now. This is due in large part to the fact that they, especially the most efficient variants, require relatively sophisticated computer control systems. The dramatic fall in the cost of computing power makes kite energy a much more viable approach than just a decade ago. Combined with recent strides in materials technology makes this a very exciting and rewarding time to develop kite energy.

Our Purpose

We will be promoting and developing kite technology in order to create a future where renewable energy is the most cost effective option. Cheaper energy will help societies reduce the average amount of “hard” work required to sustain a given living standard, freeing up time for more valuable pursuits. We find the reflections in these answers quite interesting: Quora - if energy was free

In order to promote this future the company KiteX will be focusing on research and development of kite-systems and we will be disseminating our findings to the largest extent possible, while ensuring that viability of our own business.

Team

Core team

	Andreas Bruun Okholm Co-founder: Aircraft Design, Control Strategy. MSc aerospace engineering. Successful wind/aero startup.
	Gustaf Kugelberg Co-founder: Mathematical modelling, Software architecture. MSc theoretical physics. X-Management Consultant. App developer.
	Aldus von der Burg Project Engineer: Project planning, Documentation, Partnerships. BSc Automotive Enginnering.
	Mathias Rask Mechanical Engineer, spare time: Mechanical design, Structural and Fluid analysis. MSc mechanical engineering. Robust Design Expert.

Key Advisors

	Philipp Neff 13 years experience in the renewable energy sector in Europe, East Africa and Canada. Co-founder of OneShore Energy, developed and realised solar-diesel hybrid systems for commercial and public clients
	Mac Gaunaa PhD aerodynamics. 19 years experience working with wind turbine aerodynamics and aeroelasticity at DTU. Previous experience with AWT modelling
	Marc Münzer European patent attorney, Co-Founder Guardian IP Consulting, PhD Electromechanical system design, Co-Founder Icebreakernordic.com, Co-Founder StartupWorks.dk
	Rolf Østergaard Founder of SENSITIVUS gauge / Team ZWATT. Advanced bike sensor technology. Very experienced M.Sc.EE with hard earned startup business skills.

Investors

	Cong Wang Entrepreneur and Business Angel.
	Neil Murray Founding Editor of The Nordic Web

Want to team up?

Do you share our vision for a the kite powered future? Get in touch! We are currently especially looking for someone who would like to design the power electronics.

Progress

Our path towards commercially viable kite energy is designed with the philosophy of dealing with the most difficult problems first - a complete autonomous self-starting and landing kite. Steps 1 and 2 below are the progressions towards this.

1. Autonomously flying kite (Achieved)
2. Fixed wing flying kite (Achieved)
3. Tethered drone that can take off and land autonomously ((Work in progress)
4. Energy generation
5. Scale it up to commercially viable proportions

We try to keep a updated List of prototype developments.

Competitive landscape

While there are currently 100+ organisations involved in airborne wind energy reference in varying fields and stages, few have reached commercial viability. These three companies in particular stand out:

• Makani. Founded in 2006. Developing a hard wing with mounted generators and engines for control and power generation. Should be starting a trial with a 600 kW version in Hawaii very soon. Investment in 2006 and 2008 of a combined of 15 million USD reference. website. wikipedia.
• Ampyx Power. Founded in 2008. Developing a hard wing, sailplane line, kite with ground based generator. Total investment of at least 4.5 million euro reference. website.
• SkySails. Founded in 2001. Developing a soft kite with ground based generator. Has experience from developing a 300 m2 kite for pulling cargo ships. Investment in research in kite related activities to date 50 million euros reference. website.

Contact

KiteX c/o Founders House
Njalsgade 21G, 7th floor,
2300 Copenhagen S

Company Name: KiteX IVS
CVR: DK38029126
Mail: andreas at kitex.tech