Digital Twins for Canal, Hydrokinetic Turbine and Array Power Modeling & Optimization

Emrgy Inc. (ôEmrgyö) is a Woman-Led Business Enterprise that develops, designs, builds, and deploys distributed hydrokinetic power systems to harvest energy from existing waterways for distributed clean power generation (Figure 1). Emrgyĺs modular turbines (5-25 kW ea.) are specifically designed for canal waterways where no impoundments or dams are necessary. Man-made water infrastructure also offers a streamlined path to market with minimal permitting requirements. Each turbine module is a self-contained unit that includes all structural, mechanical, and electrical equipment to operate. An Emrgy HK array will range from as few as 10 twin-turbines (~100 kW) spaced along 1 km of canal to hundreds of turbines (>1 MW), all interconnected like solar PV arrays. Emrgyĺs market research and other previously published data regarding water transport infrastructure has identified 300,000 miles of technically feasible man-made waterways worldwide, constituting a ~$240 billion market opportunity. As a sustainable competitive advantage, Emrgy has built a robust proprietary database detailing over 30,000 miles of pre-screened canals in the US. This immense opportunity is further prioritized by collecting canal geotechnical and historical flow data. Energy production predictions, rooted in analytical models of the man-made infrastructure and turbines, drive the precision and innovation behind MHK systemsĺ project development. Emrgy has gathered extensive data on canal geometry, historical flows, and turbine performance. Furthermore, upcoming project deployments will maintain consistent collection of water hydraulics data, including depth and velocity in canals. Currently, synthesizing canal, water resource, and turbine performance data from MHK distributed systems poses challenges. In Phase 1 of this project, Emrgy aims to develop a framework for Canal, Turbine, and Array data & physics based digital twins. Such development enables Emrgy to optimize turbine performance, conduct proactive maintenance, and devise optimal control strategies for existing sites. This holistic approach enhances Emrgyĺs product readiness and increases the value proposition for canal owners and irrigation districts, more effectively leveraging their existing infrastructure. The project in Phase 1 will also set the stage for more large-scale ML and AI models that utilize the digital twins to improve canal prospecting and energy production forecasting over a projectĺs lifespan. Through the outputs of the Digital Twins and ML Modeling, Emrgy anticipates more accurate predictions for overall energy productions for potential project sites. This enhanced insight will enable Emrgy to identify the most profitable projects and regions for developing MHK distributed systems. Furthermore, the models and Digital Twins will create opportunities for Emrgy to collaborate with irrigation districts and canal owners to optimize water flows to farmers, ultimately increasing the energy production at sites and generating higher revenues and more value for districts and canal operators. The tools will make data analysis more efficient and scalable, enabling Emrgy to assess more sites quickly and capitalize on available market opportunities.