Summary
Kitepower’s collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Defence began when the company won the Ministry’s Innovation Competition “Energy for Operational Action” in 2016, earning a €200,000 award to advance its airborne wind energy technology for military use. This initiative was part of the Defence’s broader Operational Energy Strategy, which aims to generate a significant portion of its electricity from renewable sources and reduce dependence on diesel fuel during missions. Kitepower’s lightweight, kite-based system stood out because it is modular, quick to deploy, easy to operate and can help increase energy independence in operational environments.
In February 2018, Kitepower conducted a training campaign at the Marnewaard test site in Groningen, marking an important milestone in the project. Over four weeks, the company’s engineers trained multiple teams of reservists and military engineers on deploying and operating the 100 kW Airborne Wind Energy System (AWES). The training covered everything from system setup and one-button launch procedures to automatic operation, landing, and storage. During the tests, personnel were able to set up and run the system within an hour, generating electricity from the airborne kite even under varied weather conditions, and on some days shared airspace with the Royal Netherlands Air Force. This collaboration demonstrated Kitepower’s potential to support Defence operations by providing portable, renewable electricity that reduces the need for traditional fossil generators, aligning with both military energy goals and broader sustainability objectives. The project at Marnewaard not only tested the technology’s real-world operability but also strengthened ties between the Dutch armed forces and the airborne wind energy sector — an important stepping stone toward further deployments and potential future applications of Kitepower’s systems in defence contexts.
Johannes Stark
Scrum / Flightpath Engineer
