Makani (company)
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{short description|California-based company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Makani Technologies LLC
| logo = Makani Power logo.svg
| type = Subsidiary
| industry = Wind power
| foundation = 2006
| defunct = {{End date|2020|02|19|df=yes}}
| key_people = Saul Griffith, Corwin Hardham, Donald Montague, Damon Vander Lind
| owner =
| num_employees = 20+
| parent = Alphabet Inc.
| homepage = [https://web.archive.org/web/20190323195722/https://makanipower.com/ makanipower.com]
}}
Makani Technologies LLC was an Alameda, California-based company that developed airborne wind turbines.{{cite news|last=Kirsner|first=Scott|title=A generator that's lighter than air — and relatively light on the wallet|url=https://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2011/04/17/a_generator_thats_lighter_than_air__and_relatively_light_on_the_wallet |date=17 April 2011 |publisher=The Boston Globe}} Founded in 2006, Makani was acquired by Google in May 2013. In February 2020, Makani was shut down by Alphabet, Google's parent company.
History
Makani was founded in 2006 by Saul Griffith, Don Montague, and Corwin Hardham.{{cite web|title=Company History|url=http://www.makanipower.com/company-history/|publisher=makanipower.com|access-date=17 November 2023|archive-date=14 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314035038/http://www.makanipower.com/company-history/|url-status=bot: unknown}} It received funding as part of Google.org's Renewable Energy cheaper than Coal (RE
In December 2016, Makani operated for the first time a 600 kW prototype with 28 meter wing span.{{cite web|title=Makani's first commercial-scale energy kite|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An8vtD1FDqs|accessdate=27 May 2018|website=YouTube| date=16 May 2017 }}{{cite conference|last1=Felker|first1=Fort|date=5 October 2017|title=Progress and Challenges in Airborne Wind Energy|url=http://awec2017.com/presentations/fort-felker|conference=Airborne Wind Energy Conference 2017|location=Freiburg, Germany|publisher=University of Freiburg}}
Starting August 2018, Makani operated an energy kite test site on the Big Island of Hawaii.{{cite news|last=Landry|first=Fuller|date=27 August 2018|title=Ride like the wind: Makani energy kite test flights in the works, lift off later this year|publisher=West Hawaii Today|url=https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2018/08/27/north-hawaii-news/ride-like-the-wind-makani-energy-kite-test-flights-in-the-works-lift-off-later-this-year/|access-date=24 March 2019}}
In February 2019, Makani was separated from X and made into a subsidiary of Alphabet. At the same time, Royal Dutch Shell made a minority investment in Makani and began a partnership with the company to develop its business.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/c39cdb50-2e91-11e9-8744-e7016697f225|title=Shell joins Alphabet in power-generating kites plan|last1=Waters|first1=Richard|last2=Hook|first2=Leslie|date=13 February 2019|website=Financial Times|access-date=23 April 2019}}
In 2019 the offshore energy kite was lost during testing. Investigation and reporting on the technical details of the mishap was undertaken. The wing did not successfully land on the platform resulting in the loss of the energy kite.{{Cite web|last=Felker|first=Fort|date=15 August 2019|title=Makani's airborne wind power system takes flight offshore|url=https://medium.com/@fortfelker/makanis-airborne-wind-power-system-takes-flight-offshore-907fd4c9af86|access-date=18 September 2020|website=Medium|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Makani tests energy kite|url=https://www.4coffshore.com/news/makani-tests-energy-kite-nid14067.html|access-date=18 September 2020|website=4c Offshore}}
In February 2020, Alphabet shut down Makani. The company said "Despite strong technical progress, the road to commercialization is longer and riskier than hoped."{{Cite web|last=Lardinois|first=Frederic|date=19 February 2020|title=Alphabet takes the wind out of its Makani energy kites|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/18/alphabet-takes-the-wind-out-of-its-makani-energy-kites/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218035500/https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/18/alphabet-takes-the-wind-out-of-its-makani-energy-kites/|archive-date=18 December 2020|access-date=27 December 2020|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US}} In September 2020, Makani released the Energy Kite Collection — a three-part report and accompanying collection of open source code repositories, flight logs and technical videos from the project. It also released Pulling Power from the Sky: The Story of Makani, a documentary on the project, and made a non-assertion pledge on its patent portfolio, allowing anyone to use its patents without fear of legal reprisal.{{Cite web|last=Anderson|first=Mark|date=15 September 2020|title=Exclusive: Airborne Wind Energy Company Closes Shop, Opens Patents|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/exclusive-airborne-wind-energy-company-closes-shop-opens-patents|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201227143956/https://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/renewables/exclusive-airborne-wind-energy-company-closes-shop-opens-patents|archive-date=27 December 2020|access-date=27 December 2020|website=IEEE Spectrum|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Echeverri|first=Paula|date=10 September 2020|title=Sharing Makani with the world: The Energy Kite Collection|url=https://blog.x.company/sharing-makani-with-the-world-the-energy-kite-collection-ea49398df78c|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227130630/https://blog.x.company/sharing-makani-with-the-world-the-energy-kite-collection-ea49398df78c?gi=11a847e0256d|archive-date=27 December 2020|access-date=27 December 2020|website=Medium|language=en}}
Technology
In order to meet its goal of producing low-cost renewable energy, the Makani kite-energy system used autonomous tethered wings which flew in a circular path and generated electricity via wind turbines mounted upon the main wing, a method known as crosswind kite power, originally envisioned by Miles Loyd in a 1980 paper. Loyd stated that for large scale purposes flying the generators was expected to be disfavored because of the need to fly the mass of the generators;Miles Loyd, 1980: [http://homes.esat.kuleuven.be/~highwind/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Loyd1980.pdf homes.esat.kuleuven.be] (pdf) many of Makani Power competitors have generators kept on the ground, like KiteGen, Italy.AWES Museum [http://www.energykitesystems.net/AWESMuseum/index.html www.energykitesystems.net] || KiteGen http://kitegen.com/ The electricity is generated on the ground in the tether, utilising tension in the cable connected to the kite.{{cite news|last=Harper|first=Ben|title=Start-ups are devising kites to turn wind power into a cheap source of power|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/start-ups-are-devising-kites-to-turn-wind-power-into-a-cheap-source-of-power/2011/03/14/AB13377_story.html|accessdate=27 July 2011|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=21 March 2011}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.makanipower.com/ Official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124040134/http://www.makanipower.com/ |date=24 January 2012 }}
- {{YouTube|id=qd_hEja6bzE|title=Pulling Power from the Sky: The Story of Makani}}
{{Alphabet Inc.}}
Category:Wind turbine manufacturers
Category:Companies based in Alameda, California
Category:Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Category:American companies established in 2006
Category:Renewable resource companies established in 2006
Category:2006 establishments in California
Category:Wind power companies of the United States