Drone power

The future of wind power could be up in the air, quite literally, thanks to drone technology.

Wind turbine image

Wind’s share in global electricity production has increased more than 100 fold in the past three decades, yet it still accounts for only 4.4 per cent of the total. The data underscores both the potential of this renewable energy source and its limitations – the installation of turbines often faces public backlash for ugliness, power is only produced when wind blows and, as turbines rival the wingspan of a Boeing 747, their disposal is becoming ever more problematic.

TwingTec believes it has found a solution to these problems – literally in the air. In essence, the Swiss start-up has developed a drone which can fly at high altitudes while remaining attached to a ground station via a long cable. (The drone is also referred to as a ‘tethered wing’ or ‘Twing’, hence the name.)

The drone can ascend 300 metres from the ground station, where winds are up to eight times stronger than at 18 metres, the height of comparable wind turbines. 

“Compared to wind turbines, we produce way more power with way less material,” says Rolf Luchsinger CEO and the co-founder of TwingTec. “More power because we can fly higher where the wind is stronger and less material because we reduce the wind turbine to the minimum. We don’t need the tower or the foundations, so it means you can get rid of up to 90 per cent of the material.” 

In the long run, this should mean cheaper energy and also less waste – recycling old wind turbines is becoming a major problem

For components, TwingTec can piggyback on two industries that are currently in the ascendant: electric cars and electric aviation. Mass investment in these area, including from behemoths like Uber and Airbus, could lead to the mass production of parts and therefore radically lower component costs for TwingTec. 

Wind energy infographic
TwingTec image

Offshore future

TwingTec’s biggest advantage, arguably, lies out in the world’s deepest oceans. “I’m 100 per cent convinced that what really has to happen is that wind goes offshore into the sea,” says Luchsinger, “because there’s tons of space and perfect wind.”

Today, offshore wind farms can only be constructed in relatively shallow waters, because the vertiginous towers have to be anchored to the seabed. By comparison, TwingTec’s tethered drones don’t need a tower or any foundations, meaning they can fly from a floating platform and be located in any part of any ocean. 

Not only would this have the advantage of exploiting the higher velocity winds found further out at sea; it would also mitigate a secondary problem with wind turbines that is no less important: people generally don’t like the look of them. Offshore, if you can go into deep water, the wind power plant won’t be visible from the shoreline and nobody will be disturbed. Plus, when there is no wind, the TwingTec drones can be grounded, making them even less obtrusive. 

Luchsinger estimates that his turbines are just three years away from a commercial roll-out to market. The next step for TwingTec is to create a viable product for the ‘off-grid’ market – islands, mines, and communities based in remote locations. “This off-grid market is an attractive one for us because there is a big problem as power there is still produced by diesel generators,” says Luchsinger. “And these diesel generators are producing expensive electricity, they’re noisy and, especially if you think about transport of fuel, logistically they’re very difficult to run. These people are definitely looking for solutions where costs can come down.”

He believes that this off-grid application is a perfect entry market for TwingTec and an ideal test case for the viability of the system. While wind turbines are simply too big to be transported and too costly to set up, his system is relatively transportable and easy to deploy in remote places. 

Once Luchsinger and his team have proved they have an efficient and cost-saving solution for large off-grid energy consumers, they will then start looking at on-grid applications. In other words, they will start looking at how TwingTec can contribute to (and cash in on) the huge, multi-billion-dollar electricity market. 

“If you believe in the idea, take some risk,” he urges. “Because, yes, it might take longer, it might take an extra year, but the reward could be huge – and I mean not just financial reward, but for society.”