The wind is blowing in the right direction for Kitemill
With experience from aerial sports, the company from Voss has created a new technology for sustainable energy
Kitemill is located in a small office at Voss, more specifically in the lower station of the new Gondola. They are working with a technology that will contribute to solving the zero emissions target by 2050.
-If we get this done, it is a solution that the world really need to increase the chances of reaching net zero in 2050. That's what Asgeir Løno, CFO of Kitemill at Voss, says.
Vossevangen - in winter clothes
Kitemill is located in this building.
Kitemill is a company in Voss, Norway that develops the next generation wind turbines. In the office, two of the founders and the finance manager sit close together with a nice view of Lake Vangsvatnet and the Fleischers Hotel.
And it is no coincidence that it is these persons who have come up with this idea. Among other things, Voss is known for Ekstremsportveko and air sports. The team at the office has first-hand knowledge of the forces at work when you fly through the air
- Jon Gjerde is, among other things, a world champion in hang gliding, says Løno and nods appreciatively towards his colleague. In addition, co-founder and general manager Thomas Hårklau is also the founder behind the wind tunnel at Voss.
Asgeir may not be a world champion in the air sports, but he has had many skydives at the dropzone in Bømoen.
Asgeir Løno compares the phase that Kitemill is in now with how he trained for skydiving in the past:
- Before we got the wind tunnel, I could go up to Bømoen and set aside a whole day to maybe get just two skydives. First we had to get the weather right, pack the rig, spend 30 minutes in the plane before jumping out and hovering for 45 seconds. In a whole day, I could end up getting one and a half minutes of effective training in, he says and points out: - Now Kitemill is past the stage of short test rounds. Now we can fly for several hours straight and get the same training as a skydiver gets in a wind tunnel.
The concept
Kitemill's concept can easily be compared to how you fly a kite in the wind.
From a station on the ground, a drone is placed, shaped like a glider (kite) which is attached to a line. The tether is connected to a winch that produces electricity. When the plane takes off, the tether is stretched out. The force produced when the line is pulled out causes a drum on the winch to rotate. And this is how electricity is produced.
This is how a flight takes place. Video: Kitemill
The plane will fly in a circle outwards until the line is fully extended. The kite then flies back within 15 seconds and starts a new trip.
1. The Kite
The kite is a specially designed aircraft composed of composite materials. It has a rigid structure and is designed for durability at high-power winds. It has a
form as a sailplane and 4 propellers used for taking off and landing. Once up in the air, the kite stays aloft by gliding seamlessly on air currents. The kite is designed to be able to move quickly and effortlessly while adding a high tractive force on the tether.
2. The tether
The kite is connected to the ground through a tether. This tether transforms the pull force from the kite to the ground-station generator. It is made of braided polyethene fibres chosen for their unique endurance capabilities. These in turn provide the lowest diameter for the tether; an important factor for extracting energy from kite turbines. The material of the tether is durable and can be exposed to varying environmental conditions such as moisture and UV light.
3. The ground station
The ground station converts the tractive force from the tether to electricity. This electricity is, in turn, fed into the power grid. A winch located in the ground station is connected to the generator which reels in and out the kite. The control system is also found in the ground station and makes sure all flights are conducted safely and efficiently. It ensures optimal energy production as it controls the kite and the winch. Sensors mounted on the aircraft provide data points for the control system to steer and balance the aircraft. The control system enables autonomous operation of Kitemill’s entire solution and the subsequent energy production.
The advantage is great if you measure this against traditional wind turbines and look at the size ratios.
- The material used is fifty tonnes per megawatt, says Løno and explains in more detail: - To produce the equivalent effect with a normal wind turbine, you need 500 tonnes of material. A large wind turbine at Fosen produces three megawatts. The material used is 1500 tonnes. With our solution, you only need 150 tonnes.
–The goal we are aiming for is to produce 5 times as much energy per square kilometer as conventional wind turbines.
- This will be able to reduce impact on nature from major construction works. Fifty tonnes can be flown in by helicopter. And the kite flies by itself, so part of the weight does not need to be flown in by helicopter once, he says.
Another element is also the land use. Production can be arranged in a three-dimensional plan.
Slide from Kitemill's presentation
Slide from Kitemill's presentation
-Wind turbines stand statically at perhaps 150 meters and a wake is created that will reduce production from the next turbine. With the kite, you can arrange the production at different heights and place them much closer, says Løno and adds: - The goal we are aiming for is to produce 5 times as much energy per square kilometer as conventional wind turbines.
Has brought in new capital
Kitemill has its test center at Lista in Agder.
-We have two systems we are testing there now, says general manager Thomas Hårklau.
CEO, Thomas Hårklau
CEO, Thomas Hårklau
Kitemill has just completed a crowdfunding where they raised over NOK 25 million for further development of the project. Hårklau explains that there are two purposes for such an issue.
- The first thing is to get funds to develop the concept further. Next is to build more support in the population and get more people to join us and build supporters of the technology and the company, he says.
Asgeir Løno adds that this is why Denmark has managed to do so well in the wind turbine industry. - At one point there were 100,000 Danes who had an ownership interest in wind power, he says.
Kitemill at Voss
From left: Thomas Hårklau, Jon Gjerde and Asgeir Løno at the office.
At Lista in Farsund, they work with test flights and development.
A kite is documented during a test flight at Lista.
Tallak Tveide checks the sensor that measures tether force.
Jon Gjerde is a former world champion in hang gliding. Now he uses all his experience from the air to develop the next generation of wind turbines.
CFO in Kitemill, Asgeir Løno has a busy day with several meetings on the agenda.
The deployment of wind power must increase
Kitemill has big ambitions for the future. Within 5 years, they aim to build 150 turbines.
- The technology must be commercial to a large extent by 2030. Then we are on track to take a large share of the global energy mix in 2050, says Hårklau. - It is difficult, as I see it, to reach the goal in 2050 in another way.
-For Norway's part, we hope to roll out airborne wind early phase capacity on a relatively large scale in order to mature the technology and secure industrial leadership.
Hårklau says that in order for the pace to increase, one must follow the scenarios that the international energy agencies refer to.
- The world will develop an unimaginably large area globally with wind power in order to achieve the objective of net zero. And it becomes extremely problematic when we simultaneously recognize that we are in or entering a natural crisis. We must protect untouched nature, says the entrepreneur.
Wind power is the key to achieving the goals
Wind power currently covers only 2% of the global energy mix. It is therefore important that more renewable energy is developed using wind.
- Hydropower is important, but there is not enough river fall for it to be of great importance. Wind will be the most important energy production technology to achieve the emission targets. No other technology becomes more important. Nuclear power could have been, but then we would have had to start 20 years ago, and it will be too late to be able to manage it until 2050, concludes Thomas Hårklau.
Want more details? Go to kitemill.com for more information.
Do you want a unique scrollytelling presentation of your company?
Built with Shorthand