Rethinking renewable energy
As the energy system undergoes transformation, the importance of renewable energy sources—which are continuously available and can contribute to energy security—is growing. Energyfish technology harnesses the kinetic energy of flowing water and generates electricity directly from a river’s natural current. Multiple units are combined into what are known as “swarm power plants” and feed the generated electricity into local grids on a decentralized basis. As a hydrokinetic power plant, the technology operates independently of the time of day and weather conditions, thereby contributing to a resilient and sustainable energy supply.
At the same time, the technology takes a consistently ecological approach. While traditional hydroelectric power plants are often associated with river engineering, interference with natural river dynamics, and impacts on fish populations, Energyfish was developed with the goal of largely avoiding such impacts. The units do not require dams, utilize the existing current, and were specifically designed with fish and environmental compatibility in mind.
The project is particularly significant due to the planned scaling of the technology in real-world applications. The swarm power plant currently under construction on the Rhine near St. Goar is the world’s first project of its kind on an industrial scale. There, 124 Energyfish will be connected to form a power plant network that generates base-load renewable electricity directly from the river’s current.
Digital twins as the key to resilient energy infrastructures
fortiss’s scientific contribution focuses on the development and validation of digital twins for critical energy infrastructures. In the RIVER project, real-world operational, sensor, and environmental data are continuously linked with simulation models to create the most accurate possible digital representation of power plants. This makes it possible to analyze plant conditions in real time, predict system behavior, and identify optimization potential at an early stage.
The research project brings together expertise from fortiss’s areas of competence – Architectures and Services for Critical Infrastructure, Automated Software Testing, and the Industrial Internet of Things – which collectively apply their respective research approaches to the development, analysis, and validation of digital infrastructures.
A particular focus is on the reliability of digital twins under realistic and extreme operating conditions. To this end, fortiss is developing methods for data-driven modeling, automated test case generation, and simulation-based analysis of robustness, failure modes, and system behavior. The goal is to systematically reduce the so-called “sim-to-real” gap between virtual models and real-world systems, thereby significantly increasing the informative value and reliability of digital twins for critical infrastructures.
AI-powered systems for availability and scalability
In addition to digital twins, fortiss is collaborating with Energyminer to develop a resilient IoT edge-cloud infrastructure that enables secure communication between the individual Energyfish power plants, the land stations, and cloud-based analytics systems. This infrastructure forms the foundation for the networking, monitoring, and scaling of future power plant networks.
Based on this infrastructure, AI-powered methods for predictive maintenance are being developed. Through the intelligent analysis of operational data, deviations are to be detected early, maintenance measures planned more effectively, and downtime reduced. In addition, environmental and water quality data are being collected, which can also be used in the future for applications in environmental monitoring, water management, and early flood detection.
“The combination of digital twins and data-driven analytical methods opens up new possibilities for operating energy infrastructures more efficiently and robustly. RIVER gives us the opportunity to explore these approaches in a highly innovative field of application,” says Prof. Dr. Andrea Stocco, project manager at fortiss.
Research with an impact on the energy transition and Bavaria as a hub for technology
The insights gained through the project extend far beyond their specific application in Energyfish. They lay the foundation for the use of data-driven methods in other areas of small-scale hydropower and renewable energy. In this way, RIVER contributes to the digitalization of critical energy infrastructure while simultaneously strengthening Bavaria’s position as a hub for innovation in sustainable energy technologies.
