Electricity from the air, smaller and more efficient than a wind turbine

Dusseldorf The red and white kite flies through the air far above the two hundred meter high wind turbines. It is connected to a generator on the ground via a cable, which is driven by the eight-shaped movement of the kite and generates electricity. The energy can then be fed directly into the grid. It is a pilot plant from the Hamburg start-up Skysails. The technology behind it is called airborne wind power.

Compared to conventional wind turbines, the flexible kites offer a number of advantages: At high altitudes, they collect significantly more and more predictable wind power. Depending on the model, they can still fly 400 to 800 meters high. They also use significantly fewer raw materials, are much smaller and have a much lower carbon footprint than traditional wind turbines.