Kitemill has acquired Scottish competitor Kite Power System (KPS), amid a surge of consolidation in the airborne wind energy (AWE) sector. With Makani tumbling out of the market a few weeks prior, enthusiasm around the technology is waning. There is currently some confusion around the sector’s route-to-market, which appears to be providing the largest block for its growth, with Kitemill urging collaboration across the sector’s final push towards commercialization. In conversation with Rethink Energy, Kitemill CEO Thomas Harklau highlighted that both of the sector’s casualties – KPS and Makani – mistakenly tried to push the technology into offshore operation. He believes that onshore markets offer an ideal location for proof-of-concepts but also provide a much larger market going forward. Compared…