CargoKite in a nutshell
Location: Munich, Germany
Status: Company established in 2022
90% of trade is carried by sea, but the vast majority of cargo ships in use today run on the dirtiest fuel available. CargoKite addresses this problem with an innovative, patent-pending, autonomous micro cargo ship powered solely by wind energy. The main propulsion of this 21st century version of a sailing ship is an airborne wind energy system/ kite flying at 300 m to pull the ship. In effect, the solution not only eliminates emissions completely, but also accelerates cargo delivery.
How much CO2 emissions can your solution save?
CO2 emissions from maritime transport accounted for 3% of overall emissions in the EU in 2020. Within the transport sector, the emission share of maritime transport amounts to approx. 13%.
A complete shift to CargoKite’s innovative vessels could lead to a saving of roughly 140 Mt of CO2 annually in the EU. When not only substituting conventional shipping methods, but also taking into account a modal shift from road-based to maritime transport, the impact is significantly higher.
Does your solution depend on suppliers from outside Europe?
The final vessel will be a highly complex system composed of multiple sub-systems. It is our goal to build up ship building capacities again in Europe with local suppliers and shipyards.
Core of the energy self-sufficient concept, however, is the airborne wind energy system as main propulsion combined with an electric powertrain that serves as a back-up system. The battery for the electric drivetrain will most likely have to be sourced with suppliers outside the EU.
Part of:
Founders:
- Amelie Binder, CEO: B.Sc. in Information Systems from Technical University of Munich
- Marcus Bischoff, CTO: M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Technical University of Munich
- Tim Linnenweber, COO: M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and Management from Technical University of Munich
