KPS is at the forefront of developing a new airborne wind powered generation system that will deliver clean, low cost electricity at utility scale through its development of an innovative multi-kite airborne technology system.The kites fly higher than conventional wind turbines allowing them to operate in stronger and more consistent winds which in turn significantly reduces the costs of comparable systems.
Research and development of the KPS technology has been carried out since 2011 by a team of highly experienced engineers. Over £8m has been invested in the development of the Company’s technology to date. Investors have included E.ON, Schlumberger and Shell Technology Ventures.
KPS aims to become the global leader in Airborne Wind Energy which will ultimately start to take market share from the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine manufacturers. The KPS technology will provide a viable low-cost solution to deep water floating wind energy installations with multi MW scale devices. This global market is estimated to be more than 6,000 GW installed by 2050.
KPS has identified the weaknesses in the conventional methods of harnessing wind energy and seeks to address them through its groundbreaking technology. This technology is being designed to access places that conventional methods cannot (deeper sea, higher altitudes where the winds are stronger and remote areas), and to do so using substantially less material than wind turbines.
The Company’s technology, in-development, consists of a multi-kite system that secures continuous energy production by flying at least two kites as high as 1,500 feet in the same airspace at any given time, so that while at least one is generating power the other(s) can be retracted and kept rotating at optimal speed. The kites are attached by tethers to winch systems that drive a generator. By achieving flight speeds of up to 100mph in 20mph winds, the kite’s tether tension causes the line to spool out from a drum, which turns a generator, thus producing electricity. KPS has a patented design system that reduces maintenance of its multi-kites, all components are serviced at an accessible height, and the Company uses specialist materials to maximise yield, as well as a winch design pending patent that optimises the entire system.
KPS systems are designed to be modular. The KPS design calls for one kite for each winch with a centralised power conditioning block utilised to handle this. Up to ten winch and kite systems are connected to the power conditioning unit which uses batteries to store energy and then uses the batteries the provide a steady output to the grid. Connecting multiple winch and kite units to a single power conditioning unit reduces costs. KPS’ lightweight ‘Air Beam Wing’ kite design further reduces costs when compared to other build methods. The Company’s models are showing that the cost will be at least 25% cheaper than a carbon fibre wing. The Air Beam Wing technology has been developed by the Company to overcome the primary challenges of Airborne Wind Energy: minimising the mass of the kite whilst providing enough structure to attach control effectors. Differentiating it from most other build methods, the Air Beam Wing employs several airship technologies which will scale efficiently allowing the concept to be used in multi-MW devices.
The Company’s technology has the potential to transform the global onshore and offshore wind generation markets, as it is cheaper to manufacture and requires less construction and installation materials than conventional wind turbines. The Company believes the KPS technology could reduce the capital expenditure associated with of conventional offshore turbines by as much as 50% because its patented power system does not require large quantities of steel or specialist installation vessels. In addition to the Balance of Plant being lower than traditional wind turbine, KPS will have a better effective wind efficiency per m² active area.
To date, the Company has been focussed on two main streams of work – the development of a sub-scale testing unit and designing a larger 500 kW system. In 2019 KPS has been flying its sub-scale system in Germany, developing automated launch and land algorithms. KPS’ design efforts over the last year have included conducting a scaling study which showed that the technology path could scale to at least 15 MW. The Company has subsequently taken those technologies and scaled them down to 500 kW. The 500 kW design has reached the preliminary design stage and was due to fly for the first time in 2021. The Company’s intention was to produce a 500kW rated onshore product to gain technology traction and generate revenue, which in turn would fund the product development for a future multi MW offshore product. The Company expected to generate first revenues, from energy sales or unit sales, and achieve multiple commercial developments by 2023.
This is a unique opportunity to acquire the assets behind pioneering high-altitude wind power generation technology.