Voith Hydro recently unveiled its new US$5 million, 200-ton PAMA horizontal boring bill (HBM) for manufacturing hydropower equipment at in its Pennsylvania plant. Described as one of the most advanced machines of its type to be installed in North America, the company says the HBM will be used to machine components crucial to the operations of the region’s hydro facilities.
As Stanley Kocon, President and CEO of Voith Hydro North America says. “This investment enhances our capabilities in hydropower manufacturing and demonstrates our commitment to being a part of the clean energy economy.”
Voith Hydro can trace its roots in Pennsylvania back nearly 150 years and today the manufacturing facility is home to almost 350 hydropower professionals. It is also one of the largest, dedicated hydropower turbine equipment manufacturing facilities in the world, and the only hydropower manufacturing facility in North America with a hydraulic test lab and a dedicated staff of engineers designing, fabricating, and refurbishing hydroelectric equipment.
Voith has also been working in Angola where it supplied all electrical and mechanical equipment for the Caculo Cabaça hydropower plant on the Kwanza River. Here the company supplied all electrical and mechanical equipment, including the installation of four Francis turbines with an output of 530MW each, and an additional Francis turbine with an output of 52MW.
Caculo Cabaça is set to be connected to the Angolan grid with a total capacity of 2172MW before the decade is out, and following commissioning of the power plant, around two-thirds of the country’s energy will come from hydropower.
“We are absolutely delighted to be contributing to this milestone project on the African continent,” says Dr. Toralf Haag, Voith Group CEO.
In Angola, the company is already a familiar name due to its supply of equipment for the Cambambe I and Cambambe II hydropower facilities. In this context, the training of local skilled workers has always played a vital role and at Caculo Cabaça, a six-stage training concept has been developed for regional workers, which also provides for the operation of a training centre in Angola.
With a huge but as yet untapped hydropower potential, existing electricity supply currently only reaches around half the population in Angola. And this project is described as being a milestone for a country on its journey to a broader and more stable energy supply for society and industry.
More modernisation
Andritz is set to modernise COPEL’s Governador Parigot de Souza hydropower plant in Brazil. Work will encompass a comprehensive upgrade of the plant’s key components, including Pelton turbines, generators, protection valves, and overhead cranes. Andritz will also supply state of-the-art electrical systems, automation solutions, protection systems, and instrumentation auxiliaries to enhance the plant’s efficiency and reliability.
Andritz is also working in Malaysia, where it has been selected by TNB Power Generation to carry out an extensive rehabilitation project at its country’s oldest hydropower plant. The aim is to extend the Chenderoh hydropower plant’s operational lifespan, increasing capacity of three units by 5%.
Competed in 1930, the Chenderoh scheme has been in continuous operation since its last major rehabilitation in the 1990s. Under the current project, Andritz will carry out major uprating works on the turbines, supply new generators as well as rehabilitating the hydromechanical equipment related to the generating units. The safety and reliability of auxiliary systems, the cooling system for unit 4 and various other support systems will also be improved. Electrical systems will be modernised and new equipment, including a generator transformer and a powerhouse crane, will be installed.
This rehabilitation at Chenderoh is part of TNB’s broader Life Extension Programme. An ambitious initiative, it underscores the Malaysian energy provider’s commitment to maintaining and improving its hydropower assets to ensure they continue to operate safely and efficiently, contributing to the overall reliability and sustainability of the country’s power supply.
Norwegian projects
Norway’s largest run-of-river hydropower plant, Vamma, is to undergo major modernisation soon, and Norwegian utility Hafslund has selected Andritz to upgrade and improve the performance and efficiency of Vamma’s unit 11.
The work will increase unit capacity by 22% to 122MW, and includes dismantling, reassembly, testing and commissioning, as well as model testing and new components. The scope of supply includes a new oil-free Kaplan runner with a water-filled hub, which will not only improve efficiency but contribute to the environmental sustainability of the plant. With a diameter of 7300mm, it will be one of the largest runners installed in Norway.
Commissioning of the fully upgraded Vamma 11 unit is expected in early 2028. Owned by Hafslund, one of Norway’s leading power producers, Vamma is equipped with 12 turbine generator units, including ten Francis and two large Kaplan turbines. It has a total installed capacity of 343MW and supplies an average of 1580GWh of electricity per year.
Still in Norway, Andritz has signed another major contract to supply advanced electromechanical equipment for the new Øksenelvane hydropower plant in Bremanger municipality. The new plant will be constructed next to the existing Øksenelvane power plant, which will be decommissioned after more than 70 years of operation. With an expected annual production of 171GWh, the new Øksenelvane will generate 21GWh more clean energy than the existing facility.
The scope of Andritz’s work here includes the engineering, manufacturing, and supply of high-efficiency equipment, as well as its installation, testing, and commissioning at the project site. The company will supply two state-of-the art Pelton turbines, each with an installed capacity of 55MW, including turbine governors, main inlet valves, penstocks and cooling systems. Two generators, auxiliary equipment, excitation systems with transformers, and complete automation and monitoring systems are also part of the scope of supply.
Scheduled for completion in 2028, the project will play an important role in renewable energy supplier, Sogn og Fjordane Energi (SFE)’s, mission to expand renewable energy in Norway. Currently, SFE produces 2.4 TWh of renewable electricity annually, meeting the needs of approximately 130,000 Norwegian households.
Bulgarian experience
In Bulgaria NEK is working hard on a rehabilitation programme for modernisation of its hydro facilities. At the beginning of 2024, a large-scale rehabilitation of the largest hydropower cascade in Bulgaria, Belmeken-Sestrimo-Momina Klissura (with a total installed capacity of 735MW in generating mode and 104MW in pumping mode) was completed.
Then in December 2024, NEK successfully finished rehabilitation of unit 2 at the Chaira pumped storage hydropower plant. From the outset, the scale and complexity of this project is described as exceeding the usual engineering challenges, and as such, innovative approaches and non-standard solutions were required. Implementation of this solution took 12 months of intensive activities on a three-shift basis by the teams of the contractor consortium and NEK staff.
Throughout 2025, two further hydro units will be repaired in parallel at the Chaira site. In January, NEK signed a contract with Toshiba Corporation of Japan for the repair of unit 1. As the designer and original equipment manufacturer of the plant, Toshiba Corporation’s expertise will ‘ensure the best technical solution for the facility’, according to NEK. The hydro unit is in its original condition and no rehabilitation work has been carried out on it since its commissioning in 1995. Contract works will commence as soon as possible and the unit is expected to be back in operation in 2026.
NEK also signed a contract with the Austrian consortium Voith-ABB for the repair and rehabilitation of hydro unit 3. For this, a special engineering solution will be developed and implemented, similar to the one implemented for the rehabilitation of hydro unit 2. Preparatory works for the repair of hydro unit 3 are underway, and NEK has already completed dismantling of the generator section of the hydro unit.
NEK says such signed agreements underline the importance of long-term partnerships and innovative solutions in the energy sector, which play a key role in ensuring the security of the electricity system.
Portable turbines
The increasing need for reliable, decentralised energy solutions in remote and off-grid locations, where access to traditional power infrastructure is limited or unavailable, is driving the development of portable power sources, new research claims.
In such areas, where conventional energy sources are either impractical or too costly, micro hydropower systems, particularly the Archimedes screw turbine (AST), are said offer a promising solution. These turbines can efficiently generate power from small streams, irrigation channels, and wastewater flows, even in low-head, low-flow conditions, without the need for complex installations or large-scale infrastructure.
Portable hydropower turbines are turbines with a scale below 5 kW and which can be easily carried by hand from one place to another due to their light weight. A recent study published in Scientific Reports evaluated the potential of AST as an improved portable hydropower turbine.
The turbine in question, as researched by Khan et al, was manufactured from stainless steel material according to design parameters and installed in the laboratory. Experimental testing was performed at different discharges and different angles of inclination of the screw shaft to measure power outputs and overall efficiencies. The maximum overall efficiency obtained was 70% at a flow rate of 0.5 ft3/s and at an angle of inclination of 30°. The power output at maximum overall efficiency was 42 watts and hydraulic efficiency was 75.5%. At the flow rate of 0.3 ft3/s and an angle of inclination of 55°, the turbine produced a minimum power output of 22.8 watts and an overall efficiency of 39.4%. Experimentation revealed that the flow rate and inclination of the turbine shaft affect the turbine power output and overall efficiency.
The portable AST offers substantial scalability potential, particularly in off-grid rural communities. The compact and transportable nature of the turbine allows for easy deployment in various environments, providing a versatile solution for sustainable energy generation in diverse settings. Its ability to operate in low-flow conditions further enhances its scalability, making it suitable for a variety of water sources which may not be suitable for traditional hydroelectric turbines. ASTs require regular maintenance to address wear, corrosion, and sediment buildup, especially in remote or harsh environments.
Looking to the future, the authors say logistical challenges with a portable AST include transportation to remote areas with limited resources, while environmental conditions such as water flow variability and ecosystem impact must be carefully considered during deployment. And although 3D printing offers a promising solution to address manufacturing imperfections in the development of such portable turbines, its feasibility for large-scale production, particularly in low-resource areas, requires careful consideration. Factors such as material costs, production speed, and the availability of 3D printing technology may limit its practicality in such contexts. The authors add that further research and experimentation are needed to assess whether 3D printing can be effectively scaled for broader implementation in these low-resource areas.
Reference
Development of a sustainable portable Archimedes screw turbine for hydropower generation by Nouman Khan, Muhammad Kaleem Sarwar, Muhammad Rashid, Hafiz Kamran Jalil Abbasi, Saif Haider, Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq, Abdullah Nadeem, Muhammad Ahmad Zulfiqar, Ali Salem, Nadhir Al-Ansari Abdelaziz M. Okasha, Ahmed Z. Dewidar & Mohamed A. Mattar. Scientific Reports | (2025) 15:5827.
