Airborne Wind Energy

Objectives

The objective of the IEA Wind TCP Task 48 on Airborne Wind Energy (AWE) is to tackle technological, regulatory, and policy challenges on a global level, addressing and including stakeholders such as AWE developers, suppliers, policy makers, authorities, regulators, and other wind energy and technology experts.

AWE systems allow capturing wind resources at altitudes up to 800 m while significantly reducing the amount of material input. Through its scalability, AWE technology unlocks new markets and locations for wind energy, allowing AWE to play a significant role in future energy systems.

Task 48 is the key platform for knowledge exchange about AWE, helping increase awareness and expertise on the technology. In 2025, the first 4-year term of Task 48 ended and the second term started in October.

Participation

In 2025, the following 11 countries supported Task 48:

Progress, Results, and Impact in 2025

Various papers and studies were developed throughout 2025 within Task 48 and in collaboration with other projects. Results were presented among others in the AWE symposium at WESC 2025 in Nantes.

Under Work Package 1 (resources), two studies stand out: "Kite as a sensor: wind and state estimation in tethered flying systems" [1] and "On Wind Estimation Techniques for Airborne Wind Energy Systems" [2]. Their findings are being used in the development of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard on power performance measurement of AWE systems (IEC 61400-12-80), see below.

Under Work Package 2, a number of studies were carried out dealing with models, tools, and simulations, including the general "System Design and Scaling Trends in Airborne Wind Energy" [3], and more detailed studies on simulation of flow over a ram-air kite [4], aerodynamic analysis of a 2D rigid LEI airfoil [5], and regression modelling of leading edge inflatable kite profile aerodynamics [6]. Studies on offshore AWE applications addressed the optimisation of offshore wind farm design using AWE systems [7] and perspectives on floating platform design for offshore AWE [8]. The BORNE project (Belgium Offshore aiRborne wind Energy, Ghent University and UC Louvain) used the dynamic simulation and flight control framework of the MegaAWES project to focus on higher- and lower-fidelity modelling of kites and flow fields. TU Gent contributed work on optimal path planning for megawatt-scale AWE systems [9] and aero-servo simulations using geometry-resolved computational fluid dynamics [10]. The University of Porto published work on power generation optimisation [11] and wake effect mitigation through layout design of AWE farms [12].

Under Work Package 3 on safe operations, the development of AWE-specific standards as part of IEC 61400 was initiated in 2025. Both an overarching new series IEC 61400-80 on AWE systems [13] and an AWE-specific standard on power performance measurements (IEC 61400-12-80 [14]) were accepted by TC 88 after successfully passing the vote of national committees. The working group currently consists of experts from five countries. Task 48 participants also provided important input to a regulatory proposal to the German government regarding AWE airspace integration.

Under Work Package 4 on social acceptance, and in collaboration with the Horizon Europe project JustWind4All, the Energy Read "Securing local support for AWE projects – a guide for project developers" [15] was developed, building on a detailed social acceptance study [16] and experiences from a Living Lab in Brandenburg, Germany, where Enerkite is developing a new test site in Ketzin. Various stakeholder workshops were carried out. The guide recommends treating community engagement as a core project discipline alongside permitting and engineering, engaging early with communities, ensuring transparency, adapting to local context, and maintaining ongoing communication.

A further study investigated noise annoyance and sound quality for AWE systems through a listening experiment with 75 participants, using recordings from two fixed-wing and one soft-wing ground-generation AWE system [17]. Results revealed that sharpness was the only sound quality metric predicting annoyance, highlighting the importance of psychoacoustic factors in AWE design and operation. A complementary aeroacoustic prediction framework for AWE systems was also developed [18].

The majority of AWE companies use ground generation systems, including innovative concepts such as the lighter-than-air kite applying the Magnus effect, developed by Wind Fisher (Figure 2).

Next Steps

Starting its second term in October 2025, Task 48 will focus on four Work Packages: (i) materials, manufacturing & supply; (ii) models & tools; (iii) regulation & deployment; and (iv) social acceptance & environmental impacts. The objective is to support the introduction of the first commercial AWE systems into the market.

References

1. Cayon, O., Watson, S.J., Schmehl, R. (2025). Kite as a sensor: wind and state estimation in tethered flying systems.
2. Bordignon, M., Croce, A., Fagiano, L.M. (2025). On Wind Estimation Techniques for Airborne Wind Energy Systems.
3. Joshi, R., Schmehl, R., von Terzi, D. (2025). System Design and Scaling Trends in Airborne Wind Energy. Doctoral thesis.
4. Sogasu, D., van Zuijlen, A.H., Thedens, P., Gerritsma, M.I. (2025). Simulation of Flow Over a Ram-Air Kite in the Depowered State. Master thesis.
5. van Lith, T.L.B., Schmehl, R., Poland, J., De Tavernier, D.A.M., van Zuijlen, A.H. (2025). Aerodynamic analysis of a 2D rigid LEI airfoil: An experimental and numerical study. Master thesis.
6. Masure, K.R.G., Schmehl, R., Poland, J. (2025). Regression Model of Leading Edge Inflatable Kite Profile Aerodynamics. Master thesis.
7. Bosman, T.J.A.O., Kootte, M.E., Goddijn, I.A.M. (2025). Optimising the design of an offshore wind farm using airborne wind energy systems.
8. Bertozzi, A., Niosi, F., Paduano, B., Jiang, X. (2025). Perspectives on design of floating platforms for offshore airborne wind energy systems.
9. Heydarnia, O., Wauters, J., Lefebvre, T., Crevecoeur, G. (2025). Opti-MegAWES: a toolbox for optimal path planning of megawatt-scale airborne wind energy systems. WESC 2025: Wind Energy Science Conference, Proceedings.
10. Pynaert, N., Haas, T., Wauters, J., Crevecoeur, G., Degroote, J. (2025). Aero-servo simulations of an airborne wind energy system using geometry-resolved computational fluid dynamics. Wind Energy Science, 10(11), 2663–2684. https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/01KE7YZGC1VRBC1HH7J0DW0ZF5
11. Carvalho, M. (2025). Optimization of Power Generation Using Wind at Different Heights in Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWES). Universidade do Porto.
12. Quinta, J. (2025). Wake Effect Mitigation Through Layout Design of Airborne Wind Energy Farms.
13. IEC TS 61400-80 ED1: Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWES).
14. IEC TS 61400-12-80 ED1: Power performance measurements of electricity producing Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWES).
15. Petrick, K., et al. (2025). Energy Read: Securing local support for AWE projects – a guide for project developers. JustWind4All. https://justwind4all.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AWEEnergy-Read_V5.pdf
16. Schmidt, H., Schmehl, R., de Vries, G. (2025). Community Acceptance of Airborne Wind Energy, Is the Sky the Limit? Doctoral thesis.
17. Schmidt, H.S., Yupa Villanueva, R.M., Ragni, D., Merino Martinez, R., van Gool, P.J.R., Schmehl, R. (2025). Exploring noise annoyance and sound quality for airborne wind energy systems: insights from a listening experiment.
18. Mitrea, A.I., Schmehl, R., Ragni, D. (2025). Aeroacoustic Prediction Framework for Airborne Wind Energy Systems. Master thesis.