A photo of the Wadden Sea taken at water level. Just above the water, you see an orange structure. This is a type of kite with three turbines and a propeller. The structure is submerged in the water by several lines."
A photo of the Wadden Sea taken at water level. Just above the water, you see an orange structure. This is a type of kite with three turbines and a propeller. The structure is submerged in the water by several lines."

Tidal Kites

Ready
The Afsluitdijk is an icon of the Dutch fight against the water. But water is not only the enemy, it is also a source of life and energy. The use of flowing water can be a good help in our fight against climate change. A world in which fuels are no longer used up.

Why

The always present tide in the sea offers a great amount of kinetic or movement energy. The SeaQurrent company has developed a method for using this energy. The TidalKite™ makes it possible to generate clean electricity in a reliable and efficient manner.

How

The TidalKite™ consists of a seven-metre high and twelve-metre long kite. The kite is attached to a hydraulic cylinder using a cable below the surface. By flying the kite perpendicular to the tide, enormous tensile forces are created used to pull out the cylinder, which powers a hydro-engine and a generator to create electricity.
One kite has the capacity of providing around 700 households with electricity. A scale model of the technology was tested in a tide trench near the Afsluitdijk.

When

The SeaQurrent team started developing the TidalKite™ full-time in 2015. The team collaborates with Eize Stamhuis, a professor in fluid mechanics at the University of Groningen. The TidalKite™ was tested in the Waddenzee in 2018 and 2019. A true-to-size demonstration model was created in 2020, and a test configuration of the TidalKite™ was created in the Borndiep near Ameland.
If the tests go as expected, the demonstration model will supply its first electricity to Ameland in 2021.