Airborne Wind Energy System for Off-grid and Mobile End-uses

Project Information

AWESOME

Grant agreement ID: 850339

DOI

10.3030/850339

Project closed

EC signature date 8 February 2019

Start date 1 March 2019

End date 28 February 2022

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 3 285 750,00

EU contribution

€ 2 300 000,00

Coordinated by

ENERKITE GMBH
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - AWESOME (Airborne Wind Energy System for Off-grid and Mobile End-uses)

Reporting period: 2020-03-01 to 2022-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The world's energy market, with an annual turnover of more than € 10 trillion, is in transition. Today's renewables can replace 20-40% of fossil sources, however, their volatile energy output cause problems with grid stability and matching supply and demand. As a result, additional expenditure in the order of billions of € is required to expand the grid and adding storage solutions. EnerKíte offers a solution – tapping into an as of yet unused and stable energy source, providing twice the yield at half the cost to traditional horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT). EnerKítes - a future product portfolio of Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) Systems - will harness the powerful and steady winds high above the blade tips of today’s wind turbines. Proprietary control software and machine design will make EnerKítes autonomous and robust and matching renewable energy demands even during lull and at night.

The SME Phase 2 project focuses on optimizing and validating the EK200, a 100 kW unit, as the commercial market entry model. Working closely with leading utility companies, we will ensure that the technology is matured while anchoring the commercialization journey.

Our entry strategy is to provide green energy directly where there is demand. We will address the renewable mini-grid market with a volume of €bn 7.2 p.a. - sufficient for a proper business case itself. We will deploy rural wind-storage charging stations to boost the €bn 40 by 2025 eMobility market, growing with a CAGR of 47.9%. EnerKíte’s value chain is centered around certifiable designs, IP and know-how. The need for scalable manufacturing skillsets prompts dialogues with leader in the industry e.g. Siemens (DE). The innovation effort provides a €m 50.9 business opportunity already for 2021-2026.

With this report for the final period, the following conclusive statements to the action is given:
The goal of the project was to commission the EK200 prototype and elevate the Technology Readiness Level of the EK200 product from 6 to 8 while further developing market, client portfolio, regulations and company financing to start the market entry phase after this project.
Due to high technical challenges in the operation of the demonstrator and the impact of Corona, the progress in the technical field was slower than planned and we had to change the scope of the project. Building and commissioning the full scale EK200 prototype was not realised, but a subset of the system, namely the automatic control system and software, was completed and successfully commissioned and validated in flight. The major achievement during the project was, that we were able to proof the full operational cycle in strong and harsh wind conditions. Except completing the full scale prototype, the other actions were successfully completed. Some of them with minor changes in scope, as the whole time plane of Enerkite and thus the entry into market is delayed now for about 2 year.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

With reporting of the final period, we present the results of the project.

In addition to the results reported with the midterm report for end of RP1 (March 2019 to February 2020) the following major results have been achieved to the end of RP2 ( (March 2020 to February 2022):
1. Commissioning and validation of the flight control and automatic operation system and software
2. Demonstrate the full operational cycle from starting, climb into harvesting and performing harvesting cycles until safe landing. The demonstration was performed in strong winds and repeated in different, also harsh weather conditions with the commissioned software and control system and the scaled prototype (EK30).
(see https://vimeo.com/661425660) for a video of the first full automatic operation cycle)
3. Develop technical models to a new level of quality (performance models, flight physics models)
4. Identify new entry market for the EK200 in Germany
5. Improve accuracy and level of detail of cost models, financial models and development planning
6. Rework road-map to accelerate the overall development and time to market given the current delays due to technical challenges and Corona. The intermediate step of a scaled small series product is omitted.
7. Consider improved cost data and updated market data and revised business plan.
8. Secure financing of company over extended project period and beyond.
9. Bind new clients and keep old clients on board despite the delay of the program.
10. Continue work on regulations and establish new approach for site permits. Initiate this process in cooperation with local authorities and a pilot-customer in Brandenburg.
11. Establish the full set of validated stakeholder requirements and product requirements for the EK200.

The exploitation and dissemination of the results is still ongoing by executing the following actions (list not exhaustive):
- use the achieved Proof of Concept (PoC) in marketing activities in the ongoing acquisition of invests.
- use the PoC and demonstration operations to bind clients and investors.
- use the established industry level development processes and tools to discuss and liaise with strategic partners for the development of the EK200 prototype and pre-series system.
- present the acquired know how, technical progress and achievements in exhibitions, fairs and conferences.
- use the know how, tools and processes to de-risk and accelerate the further technical development of the EnerKite systems.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Competing with a series of other energy converters, the commercial state-of-the-art in renewables is seen as a function of reliability (capacity factor) and economics (LCOE). The observations made in the original application still hold true, with PV projected to add the largest capacity over the next 5 years, well above wind and hydro. The 5 times higher capacity factor for the EK200 provides, however, a much more reliable power supply, with added benefits from high flexibility, easy integration and dismantling.

Within AWE, the original application discussed two main principles - Quasi-continuous generation (where Makani, backed by Alphabet X, the mother company of Google, was considered the state-of-the-art) and Pumping generation (where EnerKite was considered the state-of-the-art). As per Feb 2020, Alphabet X pulled its support for Makani, creating a significant question mark to giant glider-like kites with on-board power generation. The attention from Alphabet has been positive to the overall AWE sector, while a potentially smaller competitive field is seen as a step towards a dominant design. We firmly believe that the design-choices and IP of EnerKíte represent the natural conclusion.

With the achievement of proofing the full operational cycle, mainly the demonstration of the automatic launch and landing of purely passive kite system, is a massive technological breakthrough that redefines the landscape of AWE technology. It allows to realise very lite kites and thus achieve operating times and performances that no other competitor is able to achieve. The momentum of this advantage is now used to develop the EK200 prototype and progress it towards the market until 2025.

Piloting activity at Teut's test site

Presenting the final Proof of Concept at EcoSummit 2022 in Berli

Breakthrough - commissioning new software

EnerKite presenting for Galp - securing an additional pilot customer

Collaboration with ENGIE