Power from the Current: Engineering the Hydroelectric Energyfish Fleet on the Rhine
Far from the coast, Morek applied its marine engineering expertise to Energyminer's Energyfish project on the River Rhine, where strong currents and varying water levels presented a fresh set of challenges.
Energyfish units generate renewable energy directly from river currents, offering a low-impact alternative to conventional hydropower infrastructure. As Energyminer moves toward a larger deployment at St. Goar, the fleet's floating units need to be reliably moored to the riverbed, safely spaced across the site, and accessible to a vessel for ongoing operations and maintenance.
Using OrcaFlex, the industry-standard software for marine and offshore engineering analysis, Morek's team modelled the Energyfish units and their moorings under a range of river flow and water level conditions representative of the St. Goar site. This allowed different anchor cluster arrangements and mooring configurations to be assessed and refined, informing a mooring concept that Energyminer can carry forward into further design and installation.
Alongside the mooring work, Morek developed a methodology for laying out the fleet across the site, balancing spacing between units with the practicalities of vessel access for installation and maintenance. This has resulted in a site layout drawing setting out anchor positions and unit spacing for Energyminer's review.
The study also addressed a challenge specific to this kind of project: how the vessel used to install and service the Energyfish units can itself be safely and efficiently moored while working across a site occupied by multiple floating units and their mooring lines. Morek assessed vessel loads under site-specific current and wind conditions and developed two alternative mooring arrangements for the vessel, giving Energyminer options to take forward depending on operational priorities.
The engagement brings together Morek's naval architecture and marine engineering expertise in support of the growing river and tidal energy sector.
Images: Energyminer GmbH
“Scaling from single units to a fleet raises new engineering questions. How do we moor each Energyfish reliably, space the fleet sensibly across the site, and still leave a service vessel adequate room to operate? Morek addressed these questions with care and precision. Their team modelled our units under the flow and water-level conditions at St. Goar and compared different anchor configurations. The result was a site layout and two mooring concepts for the service vessel, providing a solid basis for the next stage of detailed design. Offshore engineering expertise, thoughtfully adapted to the river environment.”
