UK-based wind energy technology developer Kite Power Solutions (KPS) raised £5m ($6.2m) on Tuesday from oilfield services provider Schlumberger, energy utility Eon and Shell Technology Ventures, a subsidiary of petroleum provider Shell.
KPS is working on offshore wind power technology that uses kites which are tethered to a winch. The tether tension caused by the kites as the winch spools out causes a generator to turn, producing energy.
The company plans to establish a 500 kW onshore system in Scotland in 2017 before building out a range of pilot systems in the next three to four years. It aims to eventually build a 3 MW onshore system that can then be duplicated offshore.
Founded in 2011, KPS had received funding from Shell’s GameChanger initiative, from the UK government through Innovate UK and the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s Energy Entrepreneurs Fund, and from undisclosed private investors.
KPS chief financial officer Paul Jones said: “The new investment from three major international businesses is an endorsement of the R&D work that the KPS team has carried out and demonstrates support for our technology and our business.
“The backing of these companies will accelerate KPS’s commercial development plans towards deploying lower cost, deep-water offshore wind energy on a global scale.”
– Photo courtesy of Kite Power Systems Ltd.