dic winner kitepower wind energy with kites ideal for remote ......wind energy with kites ideal for...
TRANSCRIPT
a large kite on a cable. The kite powers a dynamo on the ground until the cable is fully
unwound. At that point the robot steers the kite out of the wind and the dynamo becomes
a motor that reels the kite back in. The technique makes it possible to use the strong winds
at up to several hundred metres altitude.
MoD wants to become more sustainable
One of the dream customers is the Dutch Ministry of
Defence. Peschel explains: ‘In remote locations the MOD
depends on diesel as a source of energy. That costs a lot of
money, and they want to shift to more sustainable energy.
This makes Kitepower an interesting and simple alternative.
But you can obviously come up with many more appli
cations. More and more remote villages in China are being
electrified, and this can naturally be ideal for that as well.
Or for music festivals, or more seriously – in disaster areas.
Anywhere people currently use diesel.’
Patent and knowledge sharing
Together with V.O. Patents & Trademarks, he manages all
patentrelated matters. ‘We have invested a lot, and in the
future we also want to market our invention and profit
from it. I should point out that we also share a lot of the
results of our research. This technology is still in its infancy
and the market potential is huge; it will develop further
especially through sharing research and working collabo
ratively.
For more information visit kitepower.nl
Kitepower has had the wind in its sails in
recent years. In 2015, it received millions in
funding from the European Commission and
last year they won the Dutch Innovation
Competition (DIC) of the Ministry of
Defence – this initiative is sponsored by
V.O. Patents & Trademarks. Originally from
Berlin, Johannes Peschel is mad about
kites and kitesurfing, and recognised the
opportunities for wind power using kites
years ago. ‘I found out that there was a lot
of expertise in this field at TU Delft, partly
thanks to a research group led by Wubbo
Ockels.’ He moved to Delft and fully
engaged in the project. Together with his
professor, he then founded the startup
Kitepower, which operates from the TU
Delft campus.
How does it work?
Wind turbines are expensive to build and
expensive to maintain. Peschel: ‘The poten
tial of our approach really is a nobrainer to
me. You only need half the material costs
for our kites and only ten percent of the
maintenance costs, while the energy yield
is higher.’ It works as follows: a robot flies
DIC winner Kitepower
Wind energy with kites Ideal for remote locations
Mega-sized kites that generate energy hundreds of metres up in the
sky. That is the groundbreaking idea behind the Delft-based start-up,
Kitepower. Inventor and founder Johannes Peschel: ‘In late 2018 the
first commercial model will be ready and we hope to have sold six
kites.’
Johannes Peschel
VO Patents goo.indd 1 24-07-17 09:27