After four years of research, collaboration and innovation, MERIDIONAL is coming to an end. Its legacy, however, will continue to shape the airborne wind energy sector for years to come. By bringing together experts from across the conventional wind technology and AWE fields, MERIDIONAL generated new scientific knowledge, open tools and datasets that will continue to benefit the sector long after the project’s conclusion.
Understanding the wind
At the heart of MERIDIONAL was a shared objective: improving our understanding of wind and how renewable energy technologies interact with it. Researchers investigated phenomena such as turbulence, gusts, or wake effects, all of which influence the performance and reliability of both traditional wind and airborne wind energy systems.
For Roland Schmehl (TU Delft), one of the project’s defining achievements was bringing together expertise from both sectors to investigate “the physics of wind, how wind interacts with kites or wind turbines when harvesting energy”. By studying the multiscale nature of wind and the interactions between atmospheric conditions and aerodynamic forces, researchers advanced the understanding of the processes involved in harnessing wind energy and their implications for the design and operation of future systems.
This work resulted in a broad portfolio of scientific outputs covering aerodynamic design, wake modelling, flight mechanics, control systems and kite-based sensing, strengthening the scientific foundations of the AWE sector while contributing valuable knowledge to the wider wind energy community.
Open-source datasets and tools – sharing knowledge beyond the project
One of MERIDIONAL’s lasting contributions has been its commitment to open science. Alongside scientific publications and conference contributions, the project enabled the publication of unique open-access flight datasets that will continue to support research well beyond the project’s lifetime.
As Schmehl highlights, these datasets provide valuable resources for future studies and for validating the next generation of mathematical models.
The project also accelerated the development ofopen-source tools for the airborne wind energy sector. According to Uwe Fechner (TU Delft), support from MERIDIONAL helped significantly improve the OpenSourceAWE ecosystem. Atmospheric modelling tools gained the capability to represent changing wind directions, low-level jets and three-dimensional turbulent wind fields, while simulation and controller frameworks became faster, more stable and increasingly realistic. These developments provide researchers around the world with powerful tools to better analyse and advance AWE technology.
From research to deployment
Beyond scientific advances, MERIDIONAL also helped bring airborne wind energy closer to commercial deployment.
For Andrei Luca (Kitepower), one of the project’s key contributions was helping close the gap between research and the field. The open datasets, improved wind models and simulation tools developed through MERIDIONAL provided industrial developers with a stronger and shared foundation on which to build reliable commercial systems. As he notes, these advances are “exactly what the sector needs to move from demonstrators towards products”. For Kitepower specifically, they also led to more predictable test results and performance estimations, helping accelerate technology development.
Through work carried out by Filippo Trevisi (Ventoplani) and colleagues, researchers developed increasingly sophisticated models capable of analysing AWE systems at different levels of detail, from performance estimation and control design to stability and load analysis. The project also explored aerodynamic wake modelling, autonomous take-off and landing concepts, AWE farm operation and techno-economic assessments.
For Trevisi, the significance of these achievements lies in how they reshaped the sector’s perspective. Rather than focusing solely on individual devices, MERIDIONAL helped researchers think about complete energy systems, including design, control, economics and large-scale deployment. As he reflects, “MERIDIONAL was central in maturing AWE from single-system analysis to systems-level thinking”, providing exactly the type of knowledge needed to move from demonstrators towards commercial applications.
The project’s influence extended beyond research itself. The progress achieved during MERIDIONAL contributed to the creation of Ventoplani S.r.l., a deep-tech spin-off from SAS-Lab established to bring fly-gen AWE technology closer to market. Initially focusing on small-scale systems for remote and stand-alone applications, the company shows how research can evolve into tangible innovation and entrepreneurship.
Bringing communities together
While the scientific and technological achievements are substantial, many participants consider MERIDIONAL’s collaborative approach to be one of its greatest successes.
As Kristian Petrick (Airborne Wind Europe) points out, an important aspect of MERIDIONAL was not only the results it produced, but the way it was organised. In his view, “scientists and industry from both the established wind and the airborne wind energy sectors working together” was one of the project’s defining strengths, creating a unique environment where knowledge flowed in both directions.
The AWE sector benefited from best practices and state-of-the-art tools already used within conventional wind research, while the “turbine people” gained new insights into what AWE can contribute, including innovative concepts such as using kites as sensors.
This exchange supported the development of approaches that extend beyond a single technology. As Petrick notes, they “worked on solutions that will help the entire wind and renewable sector”, demonstrating the value of collaboration between established and emerging technologies.
For him, the project stands as a powerful example of what can be achieved when different communities come together around a common goal, and one that deserves to be replicated in future initiatives and funding calls.
Together, these publications, datasets and software developments ensure that the knowledge generated within MERIDIONAL will remain accessible and useful long after the project has ended.
Looking ahead
As MERIDIONAL concludes, it leaves behind far more than scientific papers and project reports. It has strengthened the scientific foundations of airborne wind energy, expanded the ecosystem of open tools and data, supported new pathways towards commercialisation and fostered stronger links between AWE and conventional wind sector.
Most importantly, it has shown that progress is accelerated when researchers, industry and innovators work together. The project may be ending, but the knowledge, partnerships and ambitions it has fostered will continue to shape the future of airborne wind energy for years to come.