By Josh Beckerman

Energy kite maker Makani is emerging from Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOG, GOOGL) "moonshot factory," to become an independent company within Alphabet, and has formed a partnership with Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSB).

The company will work with Shell to bring energy kites to offshore environments.

Makani's energy kite is a wing tethered to a ground station. Rotors on the wing spin as the kite flies and wind moves through them, generating power that is sent down to the grid.

"Unlike most floating offshore wind technologies deployed at water depths greater than 50 meters, Makani's kites don't need to be supported by large platforms," the company said. They will be mounted "on a small spar buoy moored with a synthetic line and gravity anchor."

Makani plans to test its new floating offshore system with demonstrations in Norway later this year.

Google Inc. invested $10 million in Makani Power Inc. in 2006 and $5 million in 2008, and bought the company in 2013.

Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 12, 2019 14:41 ET (19:41 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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