In June, KiteKRAFT hit a major milestone with a 7-foot kite prototype, completing its first figure-8 flight, the motion that will provide the system's wind power.

The kite has small onboard spinning wind turbines, which are essentially act like regular blade tips. It does not need a tower made of hundreds of tons of concrete and steel or a foundation to hold those blade tips in the air, but instead uses smart algorithms to find the best location in mid-air.

Logistics, installation, and inspections are much simpler and the kite can easily reach stronger winds at higher altitudes. "Cost savings of over 50% compared to other sources are possible," says the company on their blog.

Another advantage is that a kiteKRAFT system is hardly visible (no towers and no huge blades), which often elicit public misgivings about such structures in their landscape.

"We are proud that we came to this point in just over one year after company foundation," says the co-founder & CTO Florian Bauer.