Introduction to Airborne Wind Energy March 2020 Udo Zillmann Kristian Petrick Stefanie Thoms www.airbornewindeurope.org 1 § Introduction to Airborne Wind Energy Agenda § Airborne Wind Energy – principle and concepts § Advantages § Challenges § Airborne Wind Europe § Meeting with DG RTD www.airbornewindeurope.org 2 § AWE principle and concepts Overview § Principles § Ground generation § On-board generation § Different types § Soft wing § Rigid wing § Semi-rigid wing § Other forms www.airbornewindeurope.org 3 § AWE principle Ground generation (“ground gen”) or yo-yo principle Kite flies out in a spiral and creates a tractive pull force to the tether, the winch generates electricity as it is being reeled out. Kite Tether Winch Tether is retracted back as kite flies directly back to the starting point. Return phase consumes a few % of Generator power generated, requires < 10 % of total cycle time. www.airbornewindeurope.org 4 § AWE principle On-board generation (“fly-gen”) Kite flies constantly cross-wind, power is produced in the on-board generators and evacuated through the tether www.airbornewindeurope.org 5 § AWE principle The general idea: Emulating the movement of a blade tip but at higher altitudes Source: Erc Highwind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UmN3MiR65E Makani www.airbornewindeurope.org 6 § AWE principle Fundamental idea of AWE systems • With a conventional wind turbine, the outer 20 % of the blades (the fastest moving part) generates about 60% of the power • AWE is the logical step to use only a fast flying device that emulates the blade tip. www.airbornewindeurope.org 7 § AWE concepts Concepts of our members – soft, semi-rigid and rigid wings www.airbornewindeurope.org 8 § AWE Concept Overview of technological concepts Aerostatic concepts are not in scope of this presentation Source: Ecorys 2018 www.airbornewindeurope.org 9 § AWE Concept Rigid kite with Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) 1. Launch 2. Produce Electricity 3. Land The kite takes flight powered by electric Once the tether reaches a minimum length If the wind stops, the propellers engage, and propellers. The tether reels out of the winch the propellers turn off. Driven by the wind the kite transitions to hover mode and the at a constant speed until it reaches a alone, the kite flies ‘pumping cycles’, each tether reels in entirely. minimum length. consisting of a series of loops followed by a The kite returns to the platform until the wind short recovery phase. Electricity is generated picks up. as the kite pulls the tether from the winch. 300 m Twing Wind Altitude Pumping Cycle 150 m Ground Station with Generator 1 Vertical Take-off and Landing Source: TwingTec www.airbornewindeurope.org 10 www.airbornewindeurope.org 11 § AWE Concept Soft kite: Launch with a mast Source: Skysails www.airbornewindeurope.org 12 § AWE Concept Rigid kite: Catapult Launch and Landing www.airbornewindeurope.org 13 § AWE Concept Semi-rigid kite: Rotating arm Source: Enerkite www.airbornewindeurope.org 14 § AWE Concept Ground-based generation technologies have developed over time TwingTec Rigid 1-line Kitemill E-kite wing/ 2-lines Skypull VTOL 3-lines KPS 1-line Ampyx Power Rigid 2-lines wing 3-lines Enerkite 1-line Skysails Kitepower 2-lines Soft kite Kitenergy 3-lines 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 www.airbornewindeurope.org 15 § Introduction to Airborne Wind Energy Agenda § Airborne Wind Energy § AWE Advantages § Challenges § Airborne Wind Europe www.airbornewindeurope.org 16 § AWE Advantages Overview § Less material: lower environmental impact: CO2 footprint, visual, resources § Additional wind resources: capturing more renewable potential globally § High full load hours: more constant electricity production § Low LCOE: potential for lower cost of energy produced § Flexibility: easier logistics, quick set-up § Scalability: from few kW to several MW § New markets: Repowering and floating offshore www.airbornewindeurope.org 17 § AWE advantages Less material, more compact, lower visual impact Size comparison of a 100 kW system Source: TwingTec www.airbornewindeurope.org 18 § AWE advantages Lower material costs – a large share of a conventional turbine‘s cost structure is for tower, blades and foundation Percentag e of CAPEX source: IRENA www.airbornewindeurope.org 19 § AWE advantages Less material, lower carbon footprint § 7 MW wind power plant: nearly 5,000 tons of material. § AWE systems require about 90% less material than conventional wind turbines § Tower, foundation, nacelle, large share of rotor blade mass become obsolete § indicative 90% onshore and 97% offshore § Saving resources concrete and steel reduce the environmental impact of the system during production -> higher material efficiency § Materials reduction influcences all levels of the value chain § The lower carbon footprint can offer additional economic advantages in case carbon prices rise in future § “AWE is substituting hardware with software” www.airbornewindeurope.org 20 § AWE advantages Less material for same power and higher energy output Example of a 30 kW system Source: TwingTec www.airbornewindeurope.org 21 § AWE Advantages More available wind resources world-wide Wind power increases with the cube of the increase of the wind speed (v3). The average wind speed increases with the height from the ground. www.airbornewindeurope.org 22 § AWE Advantages More available wind resources in Europe 100 m 500 m Bechtle et. al., to be published, wind data: ERA5 Light green means excellent conditions www.airbornewindeurope.org 23 § AWE Advantages Higher altitude means more wind, resulting in higher energy yields and improved economics 100 m altitude 200 m altitude IRENA: Global Atlas, Map data: DTU 2015, OpenStreetMap contributors www.airbornewindeurope.org 24 § AWE Advantages More full load hours, more constant electricity production, less intermittency, better system integration Higher capacity factor (60%-80% or beyond) compared to conventional wind (30-60%) and solar (15-25%) Kite Graph: Enerkite www.airbornewindeurope.org 25 § AWE Advantages More full-load hours: Power curves allow low cut-in speeds Gupta et al. (2019). Power Curve Analysis Of On-ground Airborne Wind Energy Systems www.airbornewindeurope.org 26 § AWE Advantages Low LCOE due to less material and higher yield Support only required at a comparably low level and not for a long time 3-6 Source: Kitemill www.airbornewindeurope.org 27 § AWE Advantages Markets Source: Skysails www.airbornewindeurope.org 28 § AWE Advantages Flexibility: quick set-up, easier logistics, greater availability of suitable sites § Containerized solution for small systems are possible, only simple foundation necessary if any § Flexible solution for islands and other remote communities (including resorts) – substituting expensive diesel generation § In hurricane areas the systems can be secured to avoid damage § Mines: They can plan only for a few years ahead can relocate AWE systems during lifetime Source: TwingTec, Kitemill www.airbornewindeurope.org 29 § AWE Advantages Deep offshore – only small platform required Avoiding fixed bottom structures reduces environmental impact on seabed flora and maritime fauna (e.g. whales). Source: Makani www.airbornewindeurope.org 30 § AWE Advantages Repowering of existing off-shore sites www.airbornewindeurope.org 31 § AWE Advantages Hybrid installations with solar fields possible Source: Enerkite www.airbornewindeurope.org 32 § AWE advantages High system scalability from few kW to several MW § Current demonstrator systems are in the 30-50 kW range § First commercial systems will be in the 100 – 250 kW range § Upscaling to > 2 MW is foreseen by all companies § The wide power range will allow a multitude of applications which are difficult to achieve with horizontal axis turbines § This scalability and modularity makes AWE comparable to photovoltaics. § Energy density 20 MW/km2 compared to wind 4-5 MW/km2 and solar 4–9 MW/km2. www.airbornewindeurope.org 33 § AWE advantages Potentially higher energy density: less space use for the same capacity Energy density up to 20 MW/km2 compared to conventional wind 4-5 MW/km2 and solar 4–9 MW/km2. Source: Ampyx, TwingTec Check source for values www.airbornewindeurope.org 34 § AWE Advantages “Spill-over effect” to applications in maritime transport sector AWE knowledge can help decarbonising maritime shipping Skysails www.airbornewindeurope.org 35 § AWE Advantages Markets and sequence of potential AWES deployment Grid-connected onshore deployment will be important for early upscaling Source: Ecorys 2018 www.airbornewindeurope.org 36 § AWE advantages AWE becoming part of a wide renewable energy mix § AWE is complementary to traditional wind, e.g. areas with currently low wind resources § There will be areas where AWE will be the best and most suited RET § But in other areas there will be other RETs, including conventional on- and offshore wind § AWE is part of the wind community § We are not competition to the wind community because we also need support of the wind community § A suite of renewable technologies is required to make the energy transition happen § All RE technologies are needed, distributed and centrally deployed. § They have to be continuously improved to reach a 100% RE energy system § AWE competes against fossil and nuclear energies, not against other renewables www.airbornewindeurope.org 37 § Introduction to Airborne Wind Energy Agenda § Airborne Wind Energy § Advantages § Challenges § Airborne Wind Europe www.airbornewindeurope.org 38 § Challenges Barriers