List of airborne wind energy organizations facts for kids
This article is about organizations that are working on a cool new way to get energy from the wind! It's called airborne wind energy (AWE), and it uses special kites or flying machines to capture strong winds high up in the sky. Think of it like a giant kite that helps make electricity!
In 2011, there were about 40 groups around the world working on this. By 2017, that number grew to over 60! These groups include companies, research labs, and even non-profit organizations. They are all trying to make airborne wind energy a big part of our future energy plans.
These systems can do many things. Some use generators that fly high in the air (called flygen). Others have generators on the ground or on ships (called groundgen). They can also be used to lift heavy things, pull boats, or even help with transportation. These systems can be very small or big enough to power many homes.
Awesome Airborne Wind Energy Groups
Here are some of the organizations making airborne wind energy happen:
| Name | Location | Started | Type | How they make energy | Cool Fact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitemill | Voss, Norway | 2008 | Company | Groundgen (generator on the ground) | They reel kites in and out to make power. |
| WindFisher | Near Grenoble, France | 2015 | Company | Groundgen | They use a special energy balloon. |
| KiteX | Copenhagen, Denmark | 2020 | Company | Flygen (generator in the air) | Started by students from a technical university. |
| Kitekraft | Munich, Germany | 2019 | Company | Flygen | Another company started by university students. |
| Airborne Wind Europe | Brussels, Belgium | 2018 | Association | All types of AWE systems | They bring many AWE groups together. |
| Skypull SA | Lugano, Switzerland | 2017 | Company | Groundgen | They developed a special drone for their system. |
| Scuola Sant'Anna | Pisa, Italy | 2013 | Research Lab | Flygen | They study systems with two drones working together. |
| Airborne Wind Energy Labs | Texas, USA | 2013 | Research Lab | Groundgen | They calculate how much AWE energy costs. |
| Altaeros Energies | Massachusetts, USA | 2010 | Research and OEM | Flygen | Started by graduates from MIT and Harvard. |
| AWEIA | Worldwide | 2009 | Association | All types | This group has chapters in many countries. |
| NTS GmbH | Germany | 2006 | Company | Groundgen | They use a special "X-Wind" technology. |
| TU Delft Wind Energy Institute | Delft, The Netherlands | 1999 | Research group | Groundgen | A leading university research group. |
| GIPSA-lab | Grenoble, France | 2011 | Research group | Groundgen | They do research on signals and images. |
| Enerkite | Brandenburg, Germany | 2009 | Company | Groundgen | A company focused on kite energy. |
| Energy Kite Systems | Los Angeles, California, USA | 1968 | Research, communication | All types of AWE systems | This group was bought by Upper Windpower. |
| University of Freiburg | Germany | 2011 | Research group | Groundgen | They work on a project called HIGHWIND. |
| SkySails | Hamburg, Germany | 2001 | Company | Groundgen and pulling ships | They also use kites to help pull big ships. |
| Makani Power | Alameda, California, USA | 2006 | Company | Flygen | This company was bought by Google. |
| KiteLab Group | Ilwaco, Washington, USA | ? | R&D | All methods | They work on open-source kite energy ideas. |
| Kitepower Enevate BV | Delft, NL | 2016 | Company | Groundgen | They have a mobile 100 kW system. |
| Ampyx Power | The Hague, The Netherlands | 2008 | Company | GroundGen | They received funding from a European group. |
| e-kite | The Netherlands | 2013 | Company | GroundGen | They have a 50 kW test system. |
| KiteGen | Torino, Italy | 2003 | Private Research- industrial Company | GroundGen; Carousel GW scale | They were one of the first companies in this field. |
| TwingTec | Switzerland | 2013 | Company | GroundGen | They use a special lightweight structure called tensairity. |
| UpWind Project | Portugal | 2014 | Research Group | GroundGen | They study systems with many kites working together. |
| Windswept and Interesting Limited | United Kingdom | 2012 | Company | GroundGen with tensile rotary power transmission from airborne kite turbine | They use a kite turbine with a special power system. |
| UFSCkite | Florianópolis, Brazil | 2012 | Research Lab | GroundGen | This was the first AWE research group in Latin America. |
| Kites for Future | Berlin, Germany | 2020 | free-time | GroundGen | They share their ideas for free (open source). |
