Ampyx Power secures subsidy from the European fund for regional development

Ampyx Power develops a straightforward Airborne Wind Energy system, which successfully utilizes winds at higher altitudes for energy production. The PowerPlane system uses a gliderplane to unwind a cable from a winch during flight and thereby propel a generator on the ground. The expected costs of this way of energy production are significantly lower than those of commonly used wind turbines and comparable to grey energy production.

The subsidy from the European fund for regional development was obtained through the Kansen voor West program in the city of The Hague, the Netherlands.

Together with the investment deal earlier this year with the Norwegian energy company Statkraft, Europe’s biggest producer of renewable energy and Byte, a Dutch IT company, this completes the financing required for full automation of electricity production with the company’s current 10kW PowerPlane prototype and start the next development phase of scaling up to a 100KW system.
Ampyx Power plans to demonstrate fully automated power production in late 2010. The development of a commercial 1MW PowerPlane is expected to be finalized in 2013.

The Hague and Kansen voor West
The Hague is the seat of government of the Netherlands and the International City of Peace and Justice on the world stage. International disputes will more often be related (directly or otherwise) to sustainability. Take for example, the dependance on energy, climate refugees as a result of water shortages, food shortages, etc. Given the international position of the Hague in this regard, it is well posible to encourage sustainability on a global scale. At the basis of Kansen voor West is the Lissabon strategy that will lead to economic growth and more jobs of higher quality within the European union. For the Randstad region in the Netherlands this requires strengthening the competitive power of the region. This implies investing in themes such as innovation, research & development.

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