VTOL Rigid Wing for Airborne Wing Energy

Project Details

Description

The TU Delft start-up Enevate B.V. (trade name: Kitepower) builds on two decades of pioneering research in airborne wind energy, started by former Dutch astronaut Wubbo Ockels. In this technology a kite that performs crosswind manoeuvres pulls a tether from a drum connected to a generator. When the end of the line is reached the kite is flagged and retracted, resulting in a pumping motion that is converted into reusable energy. While conventional wind turbines need to increase in size to achieve higher efficiency, airborne wind energy systems replace the large structural components by on-board intelligence and a tether. This CAPEX saving will reduce energy costs to a level below that required by fossil fuels. Kitepower’s core business employs soft kites as used in kitesurfing, but in order to increase scalability, improved durability and automation wants to expand the development into rigid wings.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/09/18 → 31/05/19

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