Mankind has always tried to navigate the ice in order to explore the remotest polar regions of the planet. All developments have been traditionally based on the use of masts and sails trying to make use of low altitude winds. The lack of a reliable logistic solution has kept vast polar regions as inaccessible, and therefore unexplored, until very recent times. In mid XX century, above all linked to cold war achievements, USA and Russia made a huge effort to explore the interior of Greenland and the enormous Antarctica Eastern plateau. Dozens of thousands of liters of fuel were burnt in the most pristine areas of the earth.
Once in XXI century, just a few projects have dared to explore these territories without finding a solution that make them economically and environmentally sustainable.
In year 2.000, the Spanish polar explorer Ramón Larramendi, designed a vehicle that has resolved most of the challenges based on the Inuit wisdom and the use of airborne wind energy, the WINDSLED.
WINDSLED basically consists of a wooden sled, very reliable, that adapts to the complex surface of the ice, and a NASA type kite (NPW). The kite is positioned up to more than 250m above ground level (in development up to 400m). It is powered with kites from 5 to 150 m2 (in development up to 200m2). WINDSLED is a modular structure with up to 4 wagons that has already carried 6 persons and more than 2 tons of weight for thousands of kilometers across the most unknown regions of Greenland and Antarctica. It can be carried in a small plane or helicopter and has carried out some of the most relevant exploration expeditions of the XXI century.
It has navigated around 24.000 km in 10 major expeditions with an autonomy of up to 65 days that covers most of the polar summer season.
Last expedition finished in January 2019, becoming the first Antarctica scientific zero emission expedition. This circular navigation of one of the highest and coldest regions of the continent brought scientific data and samples for recognized organizations such as the European Space Agency, Climate Change Institute of Univ. Maine, Higher Council for Scientific Research, Spain (CSIC), and some relevant polar research Institutions. This expedition saved more than 45.000 liters of fuel just in the polar journey, without taking into account the shipping by air of heavy conventional machinery.
WINDSLED is a nonprofit collaborative project seeking knowledge and experiences in the Airborne wind energy world.
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Publication date 20th sep 2019
By Ignacio Oficialdegui