Mass Megawatts Wind Power, Inc. has announced a new hydropower turbine design, the Hydro Multiaxis Turbosystem (Hydromat), which the company says can “pay for itself in less than two years at the best locations” and uses “substantially less than fifty percent material” compared to traditional systems.
The company, which has worked on similar turbine concepts for more than two decades, says the Hydromat design departs from conventional single-rotor hydroelectric turbines. Instead of relying on large, single-blade assemblies, the Hydromat uses a lattice-style support structure hosting multiple shafts, each equipped with many small blades, gearboxes, and generators. Mass Megawatts claims this distributed layout reduces engineering complexity, lowers material requirements, and mitigates vibration issues common in large-scale hydro turbines.
According to the company, water’s higher density compared to air enables their multi-axis system – originally developed for wind – to produce meaningful power output with smaller blade assemblies. The use of stainless steel or composite materials is cited as both structurally feasible and cost-effective.
The company argues that using many small blades instead of a single large rotor improves manufacturability and reduces weight, noting that blade weight increases with the cube of its length, while power output increases only with the square. This scaling issue, they say, favours smaller components for achieving better power-to-weight economics.
Additional claimed benefits include lower gearbox ratios due to higher blade RPM, longer bearing life from reduced structural stress, and vibration isolation via bushings placed between shafts and bearings. The system’s four-legged lattice support is described as a more material-efficient alternative to single-tower support structures.
Mass Megawatts adds that decentralising mechanical forces and using standard off-the-shelf components could help avoid custom manufacturing delays and reduce costs. The company also notes that the Hydromat’s higher aspect ratio design – achieving larger swept area without large-diameter rotors – may enable faster self-starting capability, lower inertia, and greater efficiency.
The product is positioned as a cost-cutting alternative for hydropower developers, particularly at locations where payback timelines below two years are achievable.
The company emphasized that the new technology “has substantially less barriers to market entry” than its previous developments.
It did note that use would depend on risks such as zoning approvals, financing capability, competitive pressures, and broader economic conditions.
