- He will strengthen our innovation environment and our commercialization efforts. With over 100 filed patent applications for Vestas, he will immediately enhance our competent team at Kitemill, says CEO Thomas Hårklau.

From a Leading Renewable Energy Company

Vestas is a leading Danish company in renewable energy, specializing in the production and delivery of wind turbines and wind energy solutions. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark. Vestas is known for being a pioneer in the wind energy industry and has a global presence with projects and installations worldwide. They produce a wide range of wind turbines with different capacities for both onshore and offshore wind energy projects. Vestas has also been actively involved in developing innovative technologies and concepts to improve the efficiency and sustainability of wind energy production.

Central to Vestas' Development

Torben Baun has been central to Vestas' development since he started there in 2008. He has held several positions, latest as Senior Specialist in Vestas' Innovation and Concept department before joining Kitemill in the autumn of 2023. He completed his marine engineering education from 2004 to 2007 and served in the Danish military before joining Vestas 15 years ago, where he has been since, including his bachelor project.

Impressed by Kitemill

Several years ago, he became acquainted with the company Kitemill and was impressed by both the company's technological solutions and its leading position in the world of airborne energy system.

"It's the sum of many positive impressions that has now brought me into the Kitemill team. The people are both pleasant and highly competent, the technological solutions are very good, and the location in Lista, Norway, is optimal for AWE development. I see airborne wind energy as a vital piece in accelerating the transition to net-zero emissions. Its forecasted capacity factor in many locations will be much higher than solar, making it a similarly important technology. It can access wind energy sites that are otherwise logistically challenging, opening up new avenues in the renewable energy landscape. Now, I look forward to being part of Kitemill's exciting development. I believe new investors will likely enable even faster commercialization" says Baun.

He has established his own company in Aarhus, where his primary commitment today is indeed Kitemill. The goal is that over a period, he will become progressively more integrated into the Kitemill team.

- I am extremely motivated to work on innovation and modularization, and I believe both these elements are present in the ongoing work at Kitemill. I will use my experience from innovation environments at Vestas to drive Kitemill's work towards the commercialization of the airborne energy sector. When that happens, there are numerous opportunities in the industry for the implementation of airborne systems," says Torben Baun.

Significant Achievements

 For the past five years, Torben Baun worked as the inventor of Vestas' new modular nacelle concept. He went from generating the idea to presenting the full concept to Vestas' management and board. "The advantage of the architecture of the idea allows Vestas to use modules across different platforms, giving customers the opportunity to design their own products. The new modular nacelle concept has so far been implemented in the latest version of the Vestas Enventus platform, 6-7.2 MW V162 and V172 rotors, as well as in the flagship offshore 15 MW V236," says Baun, who looks forward to being part of Kitemill's exciting development in the future.

Caption:

Strengthening the Kitemill Team: With over 100 filed patent applications for Vestas, Torben Baun brings impressive and extensive experience in renewable energy. In the autumn of 2023, he became part of the growing Kitemill team.

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