Thomas Hårklau, CEO of Kitemill "The people joining now will define the direction of Airborne Wind Energy"

We spoke with Thomas Hårklau and Espen Oland of Kitemill, an industrial partner in AWETRAIN. This is the first article of a series based on interviews with AWETRAIN supervisors.

Airborne Wind Energy is gaining momentum within the renewable energy field. As the sector matures, collaboration between researchers and industry is becoming essential. One of the key players in this development is Kitemill, a Norwegia technology developer and industrial partner in AWETRAIN, the European doctoral training network dedicated to advancing AWE.

We recently spoke with Thomas Hårklau, CEO of Kitemill, and Espen Oland, Head of R&D, as well as the AWETRAIN supervisors, about how the company contributes to the sector’s development and what role training the next generation of specialists plays in the future of Airborne Wind Energy.

Kitemill has been working on AWE systems since 2008, evolving from early kite prototypes to the rigid-wing aircraft they operate today. Their current model, KM1, with a 7.4-meter wingspan, is designed to generate around 20 kW during flight. Regular test campaigns provide essential operational insight and help refine design, improve reliability, and move steadily toward commercial deployment.

“Airborne Wind Energy is inherently interdisciplinary,” says Thomas Hårklau. “To succeed, you need expertise in aerodynamics, control systems, materials, energy integration, and regulation. That’s why AWETRAIN is so important, it builds a shared knowledge base across these fields.”.

Thomas highlights that AWE is at a pivotal point as the field grows beyond prototypes:

“The sector is evolving from proof-of-concept to scaling. This requires people who understand not only the science and engineering, but also how to navigate industry realities like certification, safety, investment, and public engagement.”

Within AWETRAIN, Kitemill provides doctoral researchers with structured access to modelling environments, data, and, where suitable, the opportunity to validate algorithms on real flight systems.

Here, Espen Oland’s role connects operational experience to academic research:

“We usually fly every other week,” Espen explains. “These flights give insights that cannot be gained from simulations alone. Our contribution to AWETRAIN is to make sure research is grounded in how the system behaves in real conditions.”

Thomas emphasizes that the future of AWE will be shaped as much by professionals as by technology:

“The people joining now will define the direction of Airborne Wind Energy.” he underscores. “They will establish standards, develop supply chains, guide regulatory frameworks, and build the first commercial-scale projects. Supporting their development is one of the most strategic investments we can make.”

Espen echoes that sentiment:

“The technology progresses at the pace of the people who work on it. Progress happens faster when we build knowledge together.”

In this context, Kitemill’s collaboration with AWETRAIN illustrates how strong industry–research partnerships can accelerate both technological progress and the growth of the expertise needed to bring Airborne Wind Energy to scale.