Makani Technologies LLC was an Alameda, California-based company that developed airborne wind turbines.

[8][9] Starting August 2018, Makani operated an energy kite test site on the Big Island of Hawaii.

At the same time, Royal Dutch Shell made a minority investment in Makani and began a partnership with the company to develop its business.

The company said "Despite strong technical progress, the road to commercialization is longer and riskier than hoped.

[15][16] In order to meet its goal of producing low-cost renewable energy, the Makani kite-energy system used autonomous tethered wings which flew in a circular path and generated electricity via wind turbines mounted upon the main wing, a method known as crosswind kite power, originally envisioned by Miles Loyd in a 1980 paper.