AMPYX POWER BV

Their core work

Ampyx Power is a Dutch SME pioneering Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) systems — tethered, autonomous aircraft that harvest wind energy at higher altitudes than conventional turbines, with the goal of producing renewable electricity at costs below fossil alternatives. Their H2020 work combined deep engineering on modelling, control, and optimisation of AWE systems (AWESCO) with commercial scale-up of their first full product (AMPYXAP3). They operate at the intersection of aerospace control engineering, renewable energy economics, and flight systems autonomy.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Within their concentrated H2020 window (both projects launched in 2015), Ampyx moved in parallel from a research-partner role in AWESCO — a fundamental research and training network on AWE modelling and control — toward a coordinator role in AMPYXAP3, an SME Instrument Phase 2 commercialisation project. This is a textbook trajectory from technology development toward market deployment, concentrated entirely on a single domain: airborne wind energy. No diversification into adjacent sectors is visible in the H2020 record.

The signal is clear specialisation and a push toward market — a partner for anyone building an AWE value chain, less so for those seeking broad wind or energy expertise.

How they like to work

Ampyx plays two distinct roles in the H2020 record: industry partner inside a larger MSCA training consortium (AWESCO), and sole SME coordinator driving its own commercialisation project (AMPYXAP3). They lead when the topic is their core product and join when the focus is fundamental research or training. The 17-partner, 7-country footprint suggests a focused SME plugged into European networks rather than a hub.

They collaborated with 17 unique partners across 7 European countries, consistent with a focused Netherlands-based SME plugged into European airborne-wind and aerospace-control research networks.

What sets them apart

Ampyx Power is one of very few European SMEs that have taken airborne wind energy from academic research into a funded commercialisation project, coordinating a EUR 2.5M SME Instrument grant for their AP3 aircraft. Their value is deep, narrow specialisation: if a consortium needs a company that actually builds and flies tethered energy-generating aircraft — not just models them — they are a rare option. Partners should note their focus is singular and product-driven.

Highlights from their portfolio

• AMPYXAP3
  Their largest H2020 engagement (EUR 2.5M, sole coordinator) — an SME Instrument Phase 2 project aimed at commercial introduction of the first airborne wind energy system.
• AWESCO
  An MSCA-ITN-ETN training network on airborne wind energy modelling and control — positioning Ampyx as an industrial host for European doctoral research in their core technology.