Beyond the Kite: Minesto's Strategic Shift to Scale Ocean Energy

GOTHENBURG, Sweden – August 12, 2026 – In a move that signals a maturing vision for the ocean energy sector, Swedish developer Minesto is fundamentally reorganizing its operations. The company, known for its unique underwater “kites” that generate electricity from tidal streams, is shifting from a technology-focused developer to a full-service commercial partner. By integrating its operational and product development teams and creating a flexible, project-based delivery model, Minesto is betting that the key to unlocking the vast potential of ocean power lies not just in the hardware, but in the human systems that deploy and maintain it.

The changes announced today involve folding the 'Operations Development' unit—responsible for the crucial methods of installing and maintaining the Dragon-class kites—directly into the 'Product Development' division under Chief Technology Officer Bernt Erik Westre. Simultaneously, on-site work will transition to a more agile project-based model, relying on local partners and external resources. It’s a strategic pivot designed to streamline the path from factory to seafloor, accelerating commercial readiness for a global market hungry for reliable, renewable energy.

A Calculated Evolution, Not a Revolution

This week's announcement is not a sudden course correction but the next logical step in a strategic transformation that began in earnest in 2025. Last year, Minesto undertook a significant restructuring to prepare for commercial project delivery, a move that successfully reduced fixed costs by 35%. That phase involved consolidating its workforce at the Gothenburg headquarters and streamlining its management team, all while sharpening its R&D focus away from basic research and toward customizing its Dragon systems for specific customer projects.

That earlier transformation created a leaner, more commercially-focused organization. The changes announced now build directly on that foundation. Where the 2025 move was about creating a solid core, the 2026 evolution is about building the flexible, scalable limbs needed to reach a global customer base. By preparing to outsource site installation to trained local partners, Minesto is creating a model that can be replicated across its eleven identified geographic markets without the immense overhead of building a massive internal installation team for each location. It’s a playbook familiar to mature technology industries, from software to manufacturing, but one that represents a significant step forward for the nascent ocean energy sector.

From Hardware to Holistic Solutions

At the heart of Minesto's new strategy is a shift in what it sells. The company is moving beyond offering a piece of advanced hardware to providing a holistic energy solution. This integrated offering now explicitly includes the methods, tools, spare parts, and training required to build and operate a tidal energy farm. This is a critical distinction in an industry where operational complexity and maintenance can be significant barriers to entry for customers like utility companies and project developers.

As CEO Dr. Martin Edlund stated, the goal is to improve the "total product offer to customers by integrating the service business." This approach acknowledges a fundamental truth of complex technology: the product is the entire experience. By taking ownership of the operational methods and embedding them into the core product design, Minesto aims to de-risk projects for its clients and ensure its technology performs optimally in the real world.

Nowhere is this philosophy more evident than at the Vestmanna site in the Faroe Islands. This location has become more than a test site; it is Minesto’s living laboratory and global training hub. With multiple Dragon kites, including the megawatt-scale Dragon 12, already connected to the Faroese grid and demonstrating impressive performance gains, Vestmanna serves as the proof-of-concept for the entire service model. It’s here that Minesto will refine the procedures and train the local partners who will eventually deploy Dragon farms around the world. The site is also home to a pioneering microgrid project, demonstrating how tidal power can provide reliable baseload energy for entire communities, a powerful selling point for remote and island nations.

Leadership and Vision in Transition

The reorganization is accompanied by a key leadership transition. Johannes Hüffmeier, the Chief Operating Officer who oversaw Operations, is departing the company. In his statement, Dr. Edlund thanked Hüffmeier for his "valuable contributions, particularly related to demonstrating the Dragon Class technology to the world." However, the structural change is more telling than the personnel change. By eliminating a standalone operations silo and placing its functions under the CTO, Minesto is making a strong statement about its priorities.

This move ensures that the practical lessons learned from installing, operating, and maintaining kites in the harsh ocean environment are fed directly back into the design and engineering process. It breaks down the traditional wall between the people who design the technology and the people who have to make it work in the field. This integration is a deliberate strategy to accelerate innovation cycles and build more robust, user-friendly, and cost-effective systems. This shift is further contextualized by other recent leadership appointments, including a new CFO in late 2025 and a new board member with deep energy sector experience in mid-2026, all pointing toward a concerted effort to gear the entire organization for global commercial expansion.

The Rising Tide of a Global Market

Minesto's strategic pivot is timed to coincide with a surge of interest and investment in ocean energy. The global market, valued at just over $1 billion in 2025, is projected to nearly triple to $2.87 billion by 2030. With ambitious targets set by the EU and growing demand in Asia, the race is on to develop commercially viable technologies. Minesto's unique kite design, which can operate in a wider range of tidal speeds than many conventional turbines, gives it a key technological edge.

Now, with its new organizational model, the company is adding a powerful business model differentiator. Its focus on building local partnerships and offering a complete service package is designed to make tidal energy more accessible and economically attractive. With a 200 MW roadmap already in place for the Faroe Islands and active collaborations underway in markets like Taiwan and Iceland, Minesto is positioning itself not merely as a supplier, but as a critical enabler of energy independence and security. In an era of volatile geopolitics and increasing reliance on imported fossil fuels, the ability to generate predictable, local, and clean baseload power is a promise that resonates far beyond the technical specifications of any single machine.