Christoph D.

Experience

• Startp Co-Founder Kitekraft · Full-time Oct 2018 – Present 7 yrs 8 mos Munich, BY, Germany Company Scope:
  • Total Funding US$3.3M (venture capital/grants/awards)
  • Team of up to 10 FTE
  • 18 suppliers in the USA, Europe, and Asia
  • US and German entities
  Product/Engineering:
  • Improved reliability from 3 to 1,200+ electricity-generation cycles over 32h cumulative
  fully-automatic operation
  • Cut assembly time by 80% and BOM cost by 65% through DFM/DFA, part consolidation,
  supplier re-negotiation
  • Headed mechanical architecture and detailed design from PoC to TRL 6–7 leveraging both
  agile and V-model methods; executed EVT builds; coordinated procurement
  • Managed CAD infrastructure in and worked intensively with SolidWorks with multiple larger
  assemblies, each around 500 components (excl. fasteners) and distributed version control via
  git, released 100+ drawings with GD&T for manufacturing
  • Headed development of LCA framework for resource-efficient design optimizations
  • Developed specialized manufacturing/testing machines, such as a modular tether braiding
  machine for in-house manufacturing of multi-purpose kite tether (800+VDC electrical, GBit
  ethernet/fiberglass, aramide/kevlar mechanical strain relief) using rapid prototyping
  • Conducted mechanical FEM simulations with SolidWorks for load-adequate part design
  • Supervised the design and execution of load tests for structural analyses of system
  components (e.g. kite airframe)
  • 4 Patents pending, 2 patents granted
  Commercial/Impact:
  • US$330M+ in LOIs (letters of intent) from customers
  • US$4M MOU (memorandum of understanding) from customers
  • 100+ qualified customers, 6 pilot sites in sight
  • Inclusion of airborne wind energy in the German renewable energy sources Act (EEG)
  • EASA-wide UAS airspace flight permit by german federal aviation agency (LBA)
  • Grid connectivity certification for small power plants
  Awards/Press/Patents:
  • Y Combinator S19, Respond Accellerator BMW Foundation
  • GER: EXIST Gründerstipendium, Gründerwettbewerb Digitale Innovation, German
  Accellerator, Forschungszulage, Innovationsgutschein
  • EU: EIT Climate KIC, ESA BIC, Horizon Europe MERIDIONAL, Horizon Europe AWETRAIN
  • Press: CNN, Fast Company, Handelsblatt, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, t-Online, MDR, BR
  Operations:
  • Built supplier base across 6 countries and 3 continents
  • Hired and managed a total of 3 full-time and 45 part-time engineers/analysts
  • Strongly involved with strategic planning & project management with OKRs, KPIs, and
  roadmapping
  • Instituted safety and compliance training according to VBG (German administrative
  confraternity) standards, 100% incident-free