Over recent months, Airborne Wind Europe has continued working alongside industry, researchers and policymakers to accelerate the development of airborne wind energy across Europe. From strengthening policy engagement and expanding international collaboration to showcasing the technology at major events, the momentum behind the sector continues to grow.
As activities slow down over the summer, we take a moment to reflect on some of the recent milestones and look ahead to the opportunities that will shape the months to come.
Strengthening Europe’s policy landscape
Creating the right framework for airborne wind energy remains at the heart of Airborne Wind Europe’s work.
Over the past months, we have continued engaging with European institutions, national governments and key stakeholders to ensure airborne wind energy is recognised as a strategic technology for Europe’s clean energy future. Together with partner organisations, we contributed to several joint policy initiatives, advocating for stronger support for innovative renewable energy technologies, ambitious post-2030 renewable energy targets and the creation of lead markets that can accelerate the commercial deployment of emerging clean technologies.
Political engagement has also continued to expand. The establishment of a cross-party Parliamentary Group on AWE in the German Bundestag, together with ongoing dialogue with Members of the European Parliament and the European Commission, reflects the growing recognition of airborne wind energy across Europe.
Growing a stronger European community
Collaboration remains one of the sector’s greatest strengths.
Through IEA Wind Task 48, industry and academia continue working together to address key technical, regulatory and deployment challenges, while the AWETRAIN doctoral network is preparing the next generation of researchers through interdisciplinary training and close cooperation with industry.
Our community has also continued to grow, welcoming new members and strengthening collaboration across the European airborne wind energy ecosystem. Alongside these efforts, our communication activities have helped further raise the visibility of the sector through newsletters, media engagement, and social media campaigns, showcasing the organisations and people driving innovation across Europe.
Showcasing AWE across Europe
Recent months have also provided valuable opportunities to bring airborne wind energy closer to policymakers, industry and the wider public.
During the WindEurope Annual Event in Madrid, Airborne Wind Europe organised a public exhibition featuring a full-scale Kitepower kite, attracting significant attention from visitors, media and industry representatives. The accompanying AWE Roundtable highlighted the latest technological developments and explored the role that AWE can play within Europe’s future renewable energy system.
Momentum continued in Porto with a public kite exhibition and a webinar exploring airborne wind energy opportunities in Portugal and its Atlantic Islands, helping engage regional stakeholders and build excitement ahead of the AWEC 2026.
AWEC 2026: Bringing the sector together
The Airborne Wind Energy Conference (AWEC 2026) marked another important milestone for the sector.
Hosted in Porto, the conference brought together more than 160 participants from academia, industry, government and research organisations. Across three days, attendees exchanged the latest scientific results, discussed commercial developments and explored the policy framework needed to accelerate deployment.
Six keynote presentations, more than 60 technical presentations, over 20 poster sessions and an OEM panel featuring Europe’s leading airborne wind energy companies demonstrated the remarkable progress being made across the sector.
Strong contributions from representatives of the European Commission and the European Parliament reinforced a clear message: airborne wind energy is increasingly recognised as one of Europe’s most promising innovative renewable energy technologies.
Most importantly, AWEC 2026 once again demonstrated the strength of the community and the collaboration that exists between research, industry and policymakers, collaboration that will be essential to bringing airborne wind energy to market.
What’s next
Following a productive start to the year, attention is now turning to the next opportunities to further strengthen the sector.
One of the highlights planned for this autumn is a visit to the Kitepower test site in the Netherlands, expected to take place alongside the EERA JP Wind Innovation Forum in Amsterdam. The visit will offer members and stakeholders the opportunity to experience an operational airborne wind energy system first-hand, exchange directly with one of Europe’s leading AWE developers and gain valuable insights into the technology’s progress towards commercial deployment. As always, flight demonstrations will depend on suitable wind conditions, with weather forecasts being assessed shortly before the visit.
At European level, preparations of the “Common Strategic Vision” in the context of the EU Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan is underway. As discussions on Europe’s future research and innovation priorities continue ahead of the SET Plan Conference in Cork this November, Airborne Wind Europe will engage with national representatives of the SET Plan Implementation Working Group on Wind and other European stakeholders to help ensure airborne wind energy is fully reflected in the next generation of European research and innovation strategies.
Alongside these initiatives, we will continue expanding our policy work, strengthening collaboration across the sector, supporting international research activities and promoting the commercial deployment of airborne wind energy throughout Europe.
The progress achieved over recent months reflects the commitment of our members, partners and supporters. Thank you to everyone who continues to contribute to the growth of the airborne wind energy sector.
We look forward to reconnecting after the summer and continuing to build the momentum that will help bring airborne wind energy from innovation to widespread deployment.