PROJECT OF THE MONTH | STAHL CRANESYSTEMS
Modernisation of a tandem crane system for lifting
Heike Metzger, senior specialist, sales enablement at STAHL CraneSystems, discusses how her company’s system increases lifting capacity and tandem operations at the Jochenstein hydropower plant, all while speeding up the inspection and maintenance of rotors.
T
he CraneKit from STAHL CraneSystems has been selected for the modernisation of the crane system
at the Jochenstein hydropower plant. The company’s partner – crane and equipment manufacturer Haslinger – was responsible for the complete planning, production, assembly and commissioning. In terms of mechanics and control technology, the new cranes are a truly special solution. Rotors weighing 220t can now be lifted without dismantling the poles. Germany and Austria have a lot in common, not only in terms of language and culture, sharing Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze, but the small Jochenstein also deserves a mention for several reasons. This rocky island, located on the Danube serving as a border between Germany and Austria, has many legends surrounding it. One of them is that the devil wanted to flood the Austrian market town of Engelhartszell through a wall in the Danube, so he threw a large stone into the river – whether this story is actually true has not been confirmed. However, what is true is that a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power plant is situated there and owes its name to the rocky island of Jochenstein. The technical facilities of the Jochenstein
hydropower plant are located in both Lower Bavaria (market town of Untergriesbach) and in Upper Austria (Engelhartszell). Since 1990, walkers and cyclists have been able to cross the Danube on the weir all year round. The construction of the power plant was planned back in the early 1950s, under the management of Donaukraftwerk Jochenstein AG (DKJ). The first three hydroelectric generating sets went into operation in 1955, followed by two more sets shortly afterwards. In 2013, shares owned by German electricity group E.ON were sold to Verbund in Vienna, Austria, which has operated the plant ever since. The Jochenstein power plant has a head of just under 10m and, according to official data, has an average annual output of
8 | June 2025 |
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The rotors at the Jochenstein power plant have to be lifted out for periodic inspections.
850,000,000kWh. The movable elements of the weir are located close to the Austrian bank. The ship lock and switchgear are on the Bavarian side. The powerhouse with the turbines sits in the middle of the river on the rocky island.
Regular inspections of the turbines and generators The five vertical-shaft Kaplan turbines, all of which date back to the 1950s, work in conjunction with five three-phase synchronous generators. Although the rotors in the generators are not directly exposed to the river water, they still have to be lifted out at certain intervals for inspection and maintenance work – for example, to check bearings, windings and other components, correct imbalances and check insulation exposed to thermal stresses for damage and ageing. Cleaning is also required, as dirt and oil residue can accumulate between the rotor and stator. This has to be removed to achieve optimum performance. A crane system with a lifting capacity of
75,000kg was previously used to move loads –
specifically to lift the rotors out of the generators and transport them along the weir, so 150,000kg could be lifted in tandem operation. However, as each individual rotor weighs 220t, all the poles on the rotor had to be dismantled each time they were lifted out to reduce the weight. This took a lot of time, causing high costs for the inspection. Verbund was, therefore, looking for a solution to increase the load capacity of the crane system without dismantling the poles. STAHL CraneSystems played a key role in
the process of developing the new system and throughout the project. Its partner, Haslinger Metallbau + Krantechnik in Aldersbach, Germany, took over the complete planning, production and assembly, and completed the commissioning on schedule in autumn 2024. In the field of welding technology, the Haslinger Group plays in the top division. The company offers complete crane construction package solutions from a single source – from planning, to steel construction and assembly. As a certified partner, Haslinger can call upon the expertise of the STAHL CraneSystems engineering team for all tasks and questions, including PLC programming.
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