A German startup is bringing the lightness of kites to green energy production by building small flying wind turbines that use 10 times less material at half the cost of traditional options.

In June, KiteKRAFT hit a major milestone with a 7-foot kite prototype, completing its first figure-8 flight, the motion that will provide the system’s wind power.

The kite has small onboard spinning wind turbines, which are essentially act like regular blade tips. It does not need a tower made of hundreds of tons of concrete and steel or a foundation to hold those blade tips in the air, but instead uses smart algorithms to find the best location in mid-air.