Wind fly generator Makeni becomes independent under Google

Google bought clean energy company Makani in 2013 for $15 million. As an independent company under Google’s parent company Alphabet, it has continued to develop flying wind power generators. However, on February 19 (local time), Makeni announced that it was leaving under the alphabet.

The wind turbine generator being developed by Makeni is a small airplane equipped with a wind generator in the propeller part, and using the principle of opening, it is a structure that flies up to an altitude of 250m or more, where the wind becomes strong, and generates power efficiently.

Makeni was founded in 2006 by those seeking wind power in more places to develop wind-flying generators. It was acquired by Google in 2013 and incorporated into Google X, a secret research organization at Google. In 2019, it has appealed for continuous development by releasing a video of a successful test of a practical-sized wind turbine generator connected to a floating platform installed offshore in Norway.

However, Makeni announced that it had left Google X in 2019 and signed a partnership agreement with a Dutch oil company as an independent company under Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and on February 19th, it announced that it will be removed from Alphabet.

Mr. Makeni said that the reason Alphabet released Makeni was because there were strong technological advances, but there was a risk of taking longer than expected to commercialize the wind-flying generator. It is said that the partner Royal Dutch Shell is seeking a way to continue developing Makeni.

Mr. Makeni says he appreciates the people who support Makeney’s efforts to utilize wind energy and the employees who have been passionate about developing wind-flying generators. Emphasized. Related information can be found here .