I’m sure that really breaks Skysail’s heart to hear that
Hi Tallak: Well, given the paucity of information, we’re left to guess what the real situation is. The idea that they;re going to supply a crew to operate any given system seems farfetched as a business model. I thought the whole idea was “fully autonomous”.
I’m thinking if their “pivot” from pulling ships, to generating AWE, doesn’t work out, maybe they’ll pivot again to providing WIFI, like Altaeros says they are doing, although I see no evidence Altaeros is actually doing that either… 
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I expect you are pretty spot on in your guesswork. My point being that Skysails will be ready when they are ready or maybe run out of cash one day. If they are not living up to our expectations of progress, that is probably not a big deal for them
SkySails, as the current leader in AWE, is on the right track.
News on the horizon: Airborne Wind Energy takes off in East Asia.
Our Technology has captured the attention of udn.com Co.Ltd., illuminating the path of this remarkable innovation.
As the world shifts towards sustainable energy solutions, innovation knows no bounds.
The future of sustainable energy is soaring to new heights – quite literally!
The Far East’s embrace of High-Altitude Wind Energy reminds us that innovation is boundless and solutions can emerge from unexpected quarters. Let’s continue to explore, innovate, and collaborate for a cleaner, brighter, and more sustainable world with more airborne wind energy systems.
Stay tuned for more exciting news as our technology evolves.
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Thanks Pierre: Maybe I just don’t understand how Linked-in works, but, what is this?
“News” that some article, or coverage, appeared somewhere?
Where, and when, is that picture from?
Hi Doug,
You know the answer! Enjoy the fact that for the same topic about news dating from 2020, we have more or less the same photo and fairly similar information: we don’t need to open a new topic. This is another positive point to the credit of SkySails, which in this way allows to save on editorial costs or the opening of new topics, for at least LinkedIn and AWEsystems forum.
A post was merged into an existing topic: Slow Chat II
A few extracts:
The weight of the kite depends on its size. A 200 m² kite weighs about 50 kg.
Most of the used components are standard industry commodities with high availability and track record sourced from experienced wind energy suppliers. For our kites, the use of modern UV coatings and extremely durable and innovative materials has significantly increased their lifespan. However, the kite and tether are wear parts that are replaced at regular intervals. This allows easy implementation of product optimizations that have a positive effect on yield production. Of course, these wear part’s costs are considered in the economic efficiency calculation of the project.
We are currently evaluating various upcycling or recycling options for used kites to optimize our systems’ ecological footprint. We are still open to creative ideas and potential partners. So do not hesitate to get in touch if you are looking for high-performance textiles for your creative business!
50 kg for a 200 m² kite is an interesting low value. And the “life expectancy” of their system seems to benefit from a complete approach. We’ll have to wait and see on the basis of practical experience and future test reports.
Another extract:
If required by air traffic regulations, the kite, the control pod, and the ground station can be marked with white flashing lights to improve visibility at night.
About the control pod:
An extract page 7:
PREVIOUS CONTROL PODS
SkySails has used control pods of different configurations in their kite system since they started their kite business. The first pod was designed for a 6 m² kite and was then scaled to a 10 m². Later the systems were developed to stand a certain load that could use multiple different kite sizes depending on the wind conditions.These were 20kN, 40kN, 80kN, and 160kN (the left image in figure 2). The largest pods built at SkySails were for the 320kN System for towing cargo ships. Those pods weighed around 70-80 kg and had large gears to move the belt. A planetary gear house was placed inside the cogwheel, and the angle between the belt and kite lines was adjustable.
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From what I can tell the control pod uses a belt to steer the kite. The belt seems to be able to support a lot of weight. With this arrangement when one line is let out, the other line is pulled in (as the control lines are connected via belt). What effects might this have on steering? Is it any different than a kite-bar or even a two line kite?
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Over the years, both our kite systems and control pods have evolved. Our engineers have developed different generations of pods that fit the needs of the kite systems. Early pods had high endurance and could only steer left and right, ideal for large ship-pulling kites. In addition, today’s pods are much smarter. Equipped with two powerful actuators, they can also control the angle of attack. A key feature for handling the variable pitch power kites, to produce more energy. And thanks to its ram air turbine, it runs 24/7 — no charging needed!
The ram air turbine has been discussed for year, happy to see that someone has finally completed the work (kitepower was aiming for this, not sure about the status). It might be a game changer compared to previous pod designs which were requiring either a difficult powered tether (Airseas) or were limited by batteries (kitepower and previous skysails pods). My preference is still for multiple tethers use (at least for ship applications), but having some systems up there might be handy (furling, …).
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Kitemill has had a ram air turbine installed for a few years now. I won’t go into further details about effectiveness because those numbers have not been released. In theory this should allow Kitemill to operate infinitely. Flight duration is limited for other reasons so far, like weather, personnel or technical issues, never due to running out of onboard power.
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Text and video explaining how the SkySails kite generates power.
Did You Know? Our control pod, which manages the flight path and navigation of our kite, is powered by an innovative ram air turbine!
24/7 Operation: This turbine allows the steering pod to function continuously without the need for recharging. The turbine adapts to varying wind speeds, ensuring a constant energy supply during flights.
Cutting-Edge Design: In a wind tunnel, we simulate diverse wind conditions to perfect our turbine design. Every component of our technology is meticulously crafted and tested by our expert team of engineers and technicians. The turbine is aerodynamically formed and has no significant negative impact on the performance of our flying kite system. Quite the contrary, it is efficiency at its best! Thanks to the turbine, no large batteries or long charging cables are required to charge our control system. The pod charges itself simply by soaring through the air! Yet another example of how we push the boundaries of renewable energy production.
While a massive commercial entry is long overdue and perhaps not on the agenda, SkySails remains at the forefront of AWES in many aspects, including power with large kites, and now (?) the ram air turbine pod.
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