Saipem has signed an agreement with KiteGen Venture to support the development, construction and commercialization of a high altitude energy kite.
Patented by KiteGen, the technology facilitates the harnessing of airborne wind to produce clean energy with kites connected to a ground‐based generator that will produce up to 3MW of electricity.
According to Saipem, the aim of the deal is to make it more efficient to generate power from strong and stable wind present at an altitude of over 1000m from ground level by means of kites and thus increase the global use of green energy.
The kite technology has a number of advantages compared to conventional wind turbines, the company said, emphasizing that high altitude wind is more present and has a higher and more constant speed, resulting in a greater capacity factor that is a solution to wind discontinuity.
Fabrication costs are said to bring significant savings as the structure of the kites is much lighter, with the electricity generated also having a lower cost, thereby granting access to green energy to a greater number of users.
In addition, the generators can be positioned at a shorter distance from each other than the traditional wind turbines, thus obtaining more energy while taking up less space, Saipem said.
The two parties are also working on the possible offshore application of the system as it can be suitable in deep water due to its lightness, where wind turbines cannot be used.
The company said that the lightweight features of the KiteGen technology will allow it to offer to customers hybrid solutions that integrate the production of high‐altitude wind power to traditional solutions in the oil & gas sector, with the aim to accelerate carbon neutrality, improve energy efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy.