Ireland’s clean energy sector is taking another step forward as GKinetic Energy partners with Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) to improve the manufacture of innovative river turbines. Supported by an Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher, the collaboration will investigate how large-format 3D printing can make GKinetic’s 3kW hydrokinetic system more efficient and commercially scalable.
River Turbines Project Targets Faster, More Efficient Manufacturing
GKinetic Energy, based in Newcastle West, County Limerick, develops hydrokinetic turbines that generate electricity from free-flowing water. Unlike conventional hydropower projects, the technology is designed for rivers, canals, estuaries and tidal environments without requiring a large dam or reservoir.
The company’s system uses a floating platform and a specially shaped bluff body to accelerate water towards twin vertical-axis rotors. The current prototypes are made using traditional sheet aluminium fabrication. Through the new partnership, the organisations will explore Large Format Additive Manufacturing (LFAM) to create a full-scale 3D-printed body with more complex hydrodynamic geometry.
The project will assess whether additive manufacturing can:
- Improve turbine energy-generation performance
- Reduce production costs and assembly time
- Support more flexible and complex product designs
- Enable the use of recycled plastic materials
- Strengthen the sustainability of future manufacturing
Enterprise Ireland Supports Irish Renewable Energy Innovation
The Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher scheme allows small and medium-sized businesses to work with specialist research organisations. In this case, GKinetic will access IMR’s expertise, equipment and facilities to advance the design and production of its river turbine technology.
The work will include LFAM design optimisation, build-time and material simulations, testing, cost-benefit comparisons with aluminium fabrication and the production of a full-scale printed prototype. It will also examine how recycled materials could support the company’s sustainability objectives and align with the EU Critical Raw Materials Act.
Enterprise Ireland said the initiative reflects the potential of Irish engineering and advanced manufacturing to deliver practical solutions for the low-carbon economy. GKinetic’s technology is being developed with commercial river deployments in Ireland in mind, while the company also has experience with deployments in Ireland, the United Kingdom and France.
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What the IMR Partnership Could Mean for Hydrokinetic Power
IMR’s Large Format Additive Manufacturing capabilities may give GKinetic greater freedom to refine the shape and structure of its turbine body. This is important because hydrodynamic performance depends heavily on how efficiently water is directed through the device.
For GKinetic, the partnership is also a way to test whether advanced manufacturing can make decentralised renewable energy systems easier to produce. The company says its long-term objective is to support clean, predictable power generation for commercial and distributed energy markets.
IMR provides research, training and consultancy across sustainable manufacturing, design for manufacturing, digitisation and robotics. Its involvement could help reduce technical and commercial risks before wider production begins.
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Potential Export Opportunity for Irish Clean Technology
GKinetic Energy was founded in 2014 and has secured more than €5.3 million in development funding, according to the company. Its work illustrates how Enterprise Ireland support, specialist research and private-sector engineering can combine to develop export-focused products.
The project does not guarantee commercial production or deployment outcomes, but it provides a structured route to test materials, costs, performance and manufacturability. If successful, the approach could help GKinetic bring its river turbine technology to market more efficiently.
Conclusion
The GKinetic and IMR partnership highlights how Irish companies are using advanced manufacturing to address the practical challenges of renewable energy development. By applying LFAM and recycled materials to river turbines, the project aims to improve design flexibility, reduce manufacturing complexity and support Ireland’s low-carbon economy. The Enterprise Ireland-backed collaboration could become an important step in turning innovative hydrokinetic technology into a more scalable clean energy solution.
Article/Image Courtesy: Enterprise Ireland