With the business objective of providing distributed, cost effective renewable energy systems competitive alternatives to existing fossil fuel energy systems, Windlift develops Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) systems that use tethered drones to capture wind energy at 200-400 feet. The drone flies much like a kite, and electric power is generated with 4 onboard motors. This electricity is transmitted down the conductive tether to the ground, for further use. With access to energy being a critical component for social, economic and political advancement, the Windlift focus is on enabling reliable energy in remote, rural, dangerous and temporary locations, the firm's systems are designed to be cost effective, easily transportable, quick to install and easy to use. The lower cost, ease of installation and use renewable power alternative for off-grid locations - where fuel for petroleum-based generators is costly, unreliable and/or non-existent - potential users of Windlift systems might include forward military applications, remote locations in the developing world and off-shore operations. On a power output comparison, AWE uses 10% of the material that horizontal axis wind turbines use representing a drastical reduced cost of energy as this technology scales.
