This decision comes shortly after Alphabet’s 2019 earnings report, which shows that losses from the Other Bets division that Makani was part of increased from around $3.4 billion in 2018 to just above $4.8 billion in 2019. Likely in response to these results, Google's parent company decided to abandon its efforts to develop Makani's solution, stating that commercialization will take longer than expected. Despite being ahead of competitors (e.g., Ampyx Power) in terms of rated capacity, Makani's airborne wind system is challenged by its complex design (i.e., DC configuration and use of a conductive tether). Clients should be aware of these difficulties and monitor Makani's ongoing collaboration with Shell to set long-term expectations.
by Patricia Seoane da Silva
This decision comes shortly after Alphabet’s 2019 earnings report, which shows that losses from the Other Bets division that Makani was part of increased from around $3.4 billion in 2018 to just above $4.8 billion in 2019. Likely in response to these results, Google's parent company decided to abandon its efforts to develop Makani's solution, stating that commercialization will take longer than expected. Despite being ahead of competitors (e.g., Ampyx Power) in terms of rated capacity, Makani's airborne wind system is challenged by its complex design (i.e., DC configuration and use of a conductive tether). Clients should be aware of these difficulties and monitor Makani's ongoing collaboration with Shell to set long-term expectations.
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