ENERKITE GMBH

Their core work

EnerKite develops airborne wind energy (AWE) systems — power-generating kites tethered to ground stations that harvest wind at higher altitudes than conventional turbines. Their technology targets off-grid and mobile applications, including electrification of remote sites and e-mobility charging. Based near Berlin, they have progressed from early-stage research into a product-oriented SME building integrated energy-plus-storage systems for markets where traditional wind turbines are impractical.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

EnerKite's H2020 trajectory follows a textbook SME scaling path. They began in 2015 as a participant in the AWESCO research training network, contributing industry know-how to academic AWE modelling work. By 2016 they had secured an SME Instrument Phase 1 grant for a feasibility study (EK200-AWESOME), and by 2019 they won the full SME Instrument Phase 2 (EUR 2.3M) to build and demonstrate their integrated system — a clear shift from contributing to research toward leading product development.

EnerKite is moving from R&D toward commercialization of a portable wind-plus-storage system for off-grid and mobile markets, making them increasingly relevant as a technology supplier rather than a research partner.

How they like to work

EnerKite primarily leads its own projects — two of three H2020 grants were as coordinator, both through the SME Instrument which funds single-company innovation. Their one consortium participation (AWESCO) was a large Marie Curie training network with 17 partners across 7 countries, suggesting they can work in large academic consortia when needed. Their profile is that of a focused technology developer who joins research networks for knowledge but drives product development independently.

Through the AWESCO training network, EnerKite connected with 17 partners across 7 European countries, giving them a broad academic network in the airborne wind energy community. Their SME Instrument projects were single-beneficiary, so their collaborative footprint is concentrated in that one research network.

What sets them apart

EnerKite occupies a rare niche: they are one of very few European companies developing airborne wind energy for commercial deployment, specifically targeting off-grid and mobile use cases rather than utility-scale generation. Their combination of AWE technology with energy storage and e-mobility charging addresses markets that conventional renewables cannot easily serve. For consortium builders, they bring a genuine hardware product under development — not just research capability — in an emerging energy technology with very few competing players.

Highlights from their portfolio

• AWESOME
  Their flagship project (EUR 2.3M, SME Instrument Phase 2) — the culmination of their H2020 journey, funding actual development of an integrated airborne wind energy and storage system.
• AWESCO
  A pan-European Marie Curie training network that established the scientific foundations of airborne wind energy as a field, connecting EnerKite to the core academic AWE community.