physics

Kitepower

Kitepower is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kitepower rather than just read about it. In short: Kitepower is a registered trademark of the Dutch company Enevate B.V. developing mobile airborne wind power systems. Kitepower was founded in 2016 by Christoph Grete, Lukas Braun, Felix Friedl, Johannes Peschel, Anastasios Tzavellas and Roland Schmehl as a university spin-off from the Delft University of Technology’s airborne wind energy research group established by former astronaut Wubbo Ockels.

Kitepower — illustration

Key takeaways

Kitepower belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kitepower to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kitepower from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kitepower is a registered trademark of the Dutch company Enevate B.V. developing mobile airborne wind power systems. Kitepower was founded in 2016 by Christoph Grete, Lukas Braun, Felix Friedl, Johannes Peschel, Anastasios Tzavellas and Roland Schmehl as a university spin-off from the Delft University of Technology’s airborne wind energy research group established by former astronaut Wubbo Ockels. The company is located in Delft, Netherlands, and currently comprises 18 employees (2018).

System

Based on its first 20 kW (rated generator power) prototype, Kitepower is currently developing a scaled-up 100 kW system for the purpose of commercialization. Funding was provided by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Fast Track to Innovation project REACH in which the company was collaborating with Delft University of Technology and industry partners Dromec, Maxon Motor and Genetrix.

Working principle The Kitepower system consists of three major components: a soft kite, a load-bearing tether and a ground-based electric generator. Another important component is a kite control unit suspended near the kite and connecting the single main tether and the kite's multiple control lines. Together with the according control software it is used for remotely steering the kite. For energy production, the kite is operated in consecutive "pumping cycles" with alternating reel-out and reel-in phases: during reel-out the kite is flown in crosswind maneuvers (transverse to the incoming wind) such as figure-of-eights. The kite then moves faster than the wind speed (the apparent wind speed is several times the true wind speed during most of the time) and this creates a large pulling force which unwinds the tether from a ground-based drum connected to a generator. In this phase electricity is generated. Once the maximum tether length is reached, the kite is reeled back, but this time depowered by flying the kite to a static position such as overhead, so that the apparent wind speed relative to the kite is reduced to the true wind speed. It can then be retracted slowly with a small force. This phase consumes a small fraction of the previously generated power such that in total net energy is produced. The electricity is buffered by a rechargeable battery unit, or, in a kite park configuration, several systems can be operated with phase shifts such that the battery capacity can be reduced.

Technology context Airborne wind energy serves as a potential cost-competitive solution to existing renewable energy technologies. The main advantages of the airborne wind energy technology are the reduced material usage compared to conventional wind turbines (no foundation, no tower) which allows reaching for higher altitudes and makes the systems more mobile and cheaper to construct. Challenges include issues with the robustness and reliability of the flying wind energy system and the airspace requirements of the technology. A considerable body of scientific literature and patents has been developed.

Applications For the art project Windvogel of Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde the Kitepower system was operated also during night, using a light-emitting tether. In October 2021 the company deployed its 100 kW system during a 3 weeks exercise of the Dutch engineering corps on the Caribbean Island Aruba. Since September 2023 Kitepower has been generating electricity with a "hawk" kite in Co. Mayo, Ireland in what has been described as the first designated airborne wind energy test site.

Awards YES!Delft Launchlab 2016 Dutch Defense Innovation Competition 2016 YES!Delft Incubation Program 2017

See also List of airborne wind energy organizations Crosswind kite power Airborne wind turbine Wind power

References

External links Kitepower Official Website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kitepower

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kitepower claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kitepower before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kitepower ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kitepower

In research: Kitepower appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kitepower in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kitepower is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Airborne wind power, Renewable energy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kitepower outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kitepower in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kitepower means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kitepower out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kitepower in simple terms?

Why does Kitepower matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kitepower?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kitepower.