Infrastructure technology company Sperra has announced the successful deployment of its first full-scale 3D concrete printed gravity anchor in EDP’s floating solar laboratory at the Alto Rabagão pumped hydropower reservoir in Portugal.
The installation marks the first real-world demonstration of Sperra’s anchoring technology. According to the company, it is a 'significant step toward commercial deployment of digitally designed, locally manufactured anchors for floating renewable energy systems.'
Sperra's gravity anchor platform is being designed to address the cost, constructability, and long-term performance challenges of floating solar, offshore wind, and wave energy projects as they move into deeper water and harsher environments. The company's solution is site-specific and digitally optimised concrete anchors that can be produced closer to deployment locations using automated large-scale 3D concrete printing.
With Anchors on Demand, Sperra's engineered gravity anchor platform built for floating renewable energy systems, each anchor is designed for the project’s loads, mooring layout, and site conditions. The result, the company suggests, is a simpler, more efficient anchoring solution that improves stability while using less material and easing installation.
Using 3D concrete printing, structures can be tailored to each anchor, material usage can be reduced, and surface features that can support aquatic habitat growth can be added. Transport weight, production complexity, and logistical constraints can also be reduced, per Sperra.
The pilot was completed in close collaboration with Fred. Olsen 1848, whose Tension Buoy system is being tested at the site, and Vertico, a Dutch 3D printing company and long-time Sperra collaborator, which printed and delivered the anchor to the site. Together, the partners integrated Sperra’s digitally optimised gravity anchor with the mooring system to demonstrate performance under 'some of Europe’s most demanding conditions in hydropower reservoirs.'
EDP’s Alto Rabagão testbed features up to 50 meters of seasonal water-level variation, 31 m/s wind events, over 60 meters of water depth, along with winter extremes including snow loading, making it an ideal environment to prove next-generation anchoring solutions for floating solar.
“This pilot is an important step toward commercial deployment,” said Sperra Gravity Anchor Lead Mason Bell. “It shows that a digitally designed, 3D printed concrete anchor can be produced, delivered, and installed in a real project environment. That kind of proof matters as floating energy developers look for proven anchoring solutions that are more flexible, more local, and more cost-effective.”
Even Hjetland, Principal Development Engineer at Fred. Olsen 1848, added: “Collaboration and knowledge-sharing are essential to drive innovation. Deploying Sperra’s 3D-printed gravity anchor alongside the Tension Buoy® system allows us to validate novel anchoring concepts under extreme, year-round conditions.”
Pedro Miguel Oliveira, Head of New Technologies and Special Projects at EDP, offered: “Through the Floating PV Lab, EDP strengthens its focus on innovation and positions this initiative as a strategic, collaborative platform. By closely monitoring technological evolution and performance, EDP secures a solid competitive edge in the development of next-generation renewable energy solutions.”
