Future vision for the mobile e-charging station
VW and Enerkite also want to bring green electricity for e-cars to remote locations. Art Impression: EnerKíte, XOIO
A music event in the field, a major rescue operation far from the city, use of machinery in agriculture – these are occasions that require a power supply without a strong mains connection nearby. A project should now help to spontaneously supply remote places with renewable electricity.
Volkswagen’s provider of charging solutions, Volkswagen Group Charging GmbH, is working together with research institutes and the Brandenburg company Enerkite on the “Technohyb” project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education. The core of the research are so-called airborne wind turbines.
According to Enerkite Managing Director Florian Breipohl, airborne wind turbines can generate constant electricity, can be commissioned quickly and are easy to transport. They support a “decentralized, autonomous charging infrastructure for the nationwide supply of e-mobility all over the world”.
Constant power supply by airflow
Airborne wind turbines are designed in such a way that a so-called wing, which looks similar to a kite, flies eight-shaped paths in the wind. This creates a strong force with which the wing pulls ropes from rope drums on the ground. This in turn gets a power generator going.
Frank Otten, head of the department for energy and transport systems at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), says: “Airborne wind power may deliver more constant current than wind turbines. Because wind turbines stand still when there is no wind at the level of the rotors. A dragon, on the other hand, changes altitude and can take advantage of the steady high winds.”
Enerkite also say that the wind blows stronger and more consistently at high altitudes. And even with weak winds, an Enerkite system can produce electricity economically. The kite can take off even when there is no wind and climb to operating altitude.
Dragon from Enerkite
The plant is intended to generate renewable electricity far away from the power grid.
Regarding possible applications, Otten says: “It happens again and again that there is a temporary increased demand for electricity in a remote area. For example at a rock festival like Wacken. Thousands of people are coming, and in the future there will certainly be many in electric cars. In such places, charging stations that work independently of mains power make a lot of sense.”
So far, the technology at Enerkite is in the test phase. There is a test system with a rated output of 30 kilowatts. Enerkite is currently building a prototype with an output of 100 kilowatts, which is to be tested in continuous operation at a pilot customer from 2024. 100 kilowatts roughly corresponds to the power of a fast charging station.
Costs so far higher than with wind power
According to Enerkite, the plant can generate electricity at a cost of between 11.97 and 13.84 cents per kilowatt hour. With ordinary wind turbines on land, the costs are between four and eight cents. For larger Enerkite systems, the costs should continue to fall.
Mobile power generation is particularly useful where there is no suitable power grid. Because charging stations and other electrical devices need a power connection. The stronger the pillar should be and the more pillars there are in one place, the stronger the local power grid must be.
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