hypowerby Voith Hydro — N° 34

08
RenewalVoith is modernizing two of­Brazil’s most important power
generation facilities.

14
Refurbishment
Voith Hydro York plays a central
role in the modernizationof key U.S. hydropower plants.

24
Revolution
With the first horizontal six-­
nozzle Pelton turbine,
Voith Hydro is setting new­standards.

Editorial
hypower N° 34

Publishing Information
Publisher:
Voith Hydro Holding GmbH & Co. KG
St. Pöltener Strasse 43
89522 Heidenheim, Germany
hypower@voith.com
Responsible for Content/Editor-in-Chief:
Kathrin Göbel,Voith Hydro Holding GmbH & Co. KG

16Continuous upgrading is thestrategy for Foyers.

Editorial team:Archetype GmbH
München, Germany
Design:stapelberg&fritz gmbh,
Stuttgart, Germany
Printing:
Wahl-Druck GmbH
Aalen, Germany

24

34This picturesque landscapeis the scene of a groundbreaking
innovation in hydropower.

From Porto Colombia and Paulo Afonsoin South America, to Fort Randall and
Norfork in the U.S., to Foyers and Tinfos
in Europe, many major hydropower
plants are undergoing impressive up­
grades. Modernization projects are par­ticularly important in the context of asustainable and secure energy supply,as they enable the plants to operatereliably. They also make hydropower
capacity fit for the new requirements ofa renewable electricity supply. The
plants improve grid stability and in­crease security of supply. Environmen­
tal aspects also play an important role.
Innovations such as our Sediment Caresolution, re­trofitting for fish protection,and the rev­olution in horizontal Peltonturbines are addressing this need. You
can read more about these projects
and the remarkable people involved in
the modernization of hydropower
plants in this issue. We hope you enjoy
discovering some of our most exciting
modernization projects!

Dr. Tobias Keitel
Chairman of the Board of Management
Voith Hydro
02 Editorial

Contents
Zoom04 	Massive Millimeter WorkWhen at transports every milli­meter counts and theschedule is tight, Voith’s logistics
team manages the seemingly
impossible.

News06	Brief Reports
from the world of Voith Hydrotransform07	New Systems and Services
08	An Update for Brazil’s
Hydropower
Voith is modernizing two of
Brazil’s most important
power plants, Paulo Afonso andPorto Colombia.
12	Global Team Supports
Sustainable Trailblazer
The modernization of
the Roxburgh hydropower plantin New Zealand is animpressive example of interna­
tional cooperation.

A new innovative solution
helps get sedimentation issues ­under control.

14	Fit for Change
Voith Hydro in the United States
plays a key role in the modern­ization of large plants – as current
projects at Fort Randall and­Norfork show.
16	Proactive Asset Managementin Action
SSE Renewables relies on con­tinuous, regularly scheduled
upgrades for Foyers to maximize
the availability of the pumped
storage plant.
18	A Boost to the Region
Entire regions can benefit fromhydropower, as the modern­ization of the Wanjii small hydro­
power plant in Kenya shows.
20	From Paper to Hydropower
Norway’s industrial history goes
hand in hand with the use of­hydropower – as the upgrades to
the Tinfos plant show.
22	Clean Power – for Copper
and Communities
Through comprehensive modern­ization, Voith Hydro is increasing the capacity of Inga 2.
hypower N° 34

innovate

12

Global teamwork ensuresa successful modernizationin Roxburgh.

reflect

23	A Look at Key Trends

37	Insights and Inside Views

24	Horizontally Revolutionary
Voith Hydro is setting new
standards with the first horizontal,
six-nozzle Pelton turbine.

38	Short Distances
At the competence center in Lukavac,
in the northeast of Bosnia andHerzegovina, Voith produces bars,
coils and poles for hydropower
generators.

30	Virtual First
Building Information Modeling –BIM for short – and 3D scans
support construction, planningand asset management.
32	Managing Hydropower on
the Move
The smart Hydro Pocket app
allows processes to be optimized
and plants to be monitored.

Copyright:
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
distributed, or transmitted in any form or by anymeans without the prior written permission of
the publisher and none of the content contained
herein may be used in whole or in part in otherworks in any form.
Photo credits:
pp. 04 – 05: Verbund (3), RWE (4),DeStatis / David Liuzzo (map)pp. 08 – 11: FURNAS Bank Image (1),
CHESF Bank Image (5)pp. 14 –15: US Army Corps of Engineers (1, 4)
pp. 20 – 21: Dag Endre Opedal,
Kaja Jacobsen (historical photo)p. 22: Thierry Charlier / CAMERA PRESS / laif
pp. 24 – 29: shutterstock (background),
Verbund (illustration waterway longitudinal
section and 1)
pp. 34 – 36: shutterstock (background)p. 38: shutterstock (map)pp. 40 – 41: Jan Steins (illustration)
All other photos are from Voith.
Feedback:
If you have any questions or comments about
this issue of hypower, please contact us by email
at hypower@voith.com or via
www.twitter.com/voith_hydrowww.linkedin.com/company/voith-hydro40	A Life with Hydropower
Lucas Kunz has been working withhydropower plants for more than
three decades. His expertise has tak­en the engineer all over the world.

34	New Sustainable Solution
Voith’s Sediment Care Programis a tailor-made and environ­mentally friendly method against
sedimentation.

20

Historic badges in Tinfos showthat the partnership with Voith goesback more than 100 years.
Contents 03

04 Zoom

Massive
Millimeter Work

Heidenheim

Herdecke

Whether a turbine, generator or butterfly
valve – when every millimeter counts and theschedule is tight, Voith’s logistics
team manages the seemingly impossible.

Transportation of a butterfly valve to the
pumped storage power plant.
Route length
550 kmDuration
10 daysTeam
40

Heidenheim
Herdecke
TögingHeidenheim

TögingOne-piece delivery of a stator to the Töginghydropower station.
Route length
250 kmhypower N° 34

Dortmundhypower N° 34

3Herdecke
The butterfly valve is unloaded
from the vessel with the help of two
mobile cranes.
In order to have space for the
cranes, a restricted unloading area
needed to be rented in advance.
Only 500 meters to go to the finaldestination in the power plant.
The cargo bed is too long, so theshipment has to be transferred
to another vehicle yet again.
The last 500 meters are covered bywhat’s known as a self-propelledmodular transporter (SPMT).

Welding torch required: In order for the
shipment to fit onto the heavy-duty
truck’s cargo bed, two beams have to be
cut off at short notice.
After that, the butterfly valve can be loaded
onto the Girder Bridge Truck. The truck
is now 68.50 meters long and weighs
403 tons – and has to cover the last 20 km
to Herdecke in one night at walking
speed.

Total weight
173 tons

Team
10

Total truck
weight403 tStator width

8.2 m

4

The transport moves to the Neckar.
The butterfly valve is loaded into the inland
vessel by mobile cranes. After that, thejourney continues via water on the Neckar,
Rhine, Rhine-Herne Canal, and finallyDortmund-Ems Canal to Dortmund.

2

Heilbronn

Heavy truck transport via theroute from Heidenheim
to Heilbronn to the port on the
Neckar River.
Route length: 150 km
Duration: 2 nights
Total truck weight: 300 tons
Zoom 051

3

1

The customer had to enlarge
the entrance gate for the one-piecedelivery.
The last meters went overunpaved roads, with a second truck
braking from behind.

With a width of 8.20 meters, the stator
leaves the factory premises. Stopovers
aren’t an option; since the load is
too wide, the trip has to be completed in
one night.
Due to its sheer size, signs need to be
dismantled and traffic lights rotated along
the route.

Heidenheim

Töging2

Ampfing
On Highway A94, a tunnel had to bemeasured with lasers in advance toensure that the truck could pass throughit. The highway was first completely
closed in this area to allow for the passage of the truck. Only then does it passthrough at walking speed.

News
Ne

News from the World of Voith Hydro

Voith Hydro Board of Management Newly Formed
Dr. Tobias Keitel has been appointed Chairman of the Board ofVoith Hydro effective 1 November 2022. He took overfrom Uwe Wehnhardt. This also means a change in the structure
and responsibilities of Voith Hydro’s Board of Management.

Dr. Tobias Keitel

Markus Mader

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Financial Officer

After holding positions
at the Boston­Consulting Group and
MAN AG, Dr. Tobias
Keitel joined Voith­Hydro in 2010 as a­project manager. Since
then, he has held
­various management
positions, most­recently as a memberof the Management
Board and Chief­Operating Officer.

Markus Mader joined
Voith Hydro as a
­Member of the­Management Board in
2018. As CFO, he is­responsible for­Finance, Controllingand Human Resources.
He is also in chargeof Quality and IT.
­Previously, he held
­various management
positions at Voith Turboand Voith Paper.

Dr. Norbert Riedel

Michael Rendsburg

Chief Technology Officer

Chief Operating Officer

Dr. Norbert Riedel joined
Voith Hydro in 1998 as adevelopment engineer.
In 2011, he was appointed President and Managing Director of theinternational Voith Hydro
Engineering Center(VHEC). As a Member ofthe Board of Management, he has been responsible for Central
Technology since 2013.

The new Chief Oper­
ating Officer is Michael
Rendsburg. He joined
Voith in 2014 andhas held various positions in the Voith
Paper Group Division.
Since 2022, he has
been in charge of Operations, Project Man­
agement, Service andSmall Hydro.

Page 07

22

New Systems and Services

transform“In modernization projects, we are not only focused on extending the lifespanof the hydropower plants but also on the local people. It is important for
us to contribute to the economic transformation of entire regions through our work.”
Yolanda Odette Sebolao
Offer Project Manager

06 News

hypower N° 34

hypower N° 34

transform 07

An
UpdateVoith is modernizing two of Brazil’s
most important power plants,
Paulo Afonso and Porto Colombia.

forBrazil’s
Hydropower

New heating systems, new electrical equipment or new
smart home features – homeowners know that extensive
modernization measures need to be carried out after
two generations at the latest. Hydropower is subject to sim­
ilar cycles. After 40 to 50 years, it’s time to start thinking
about extensive upgrades. In this context, various factors
play a role from extending service life and increasing effi­
ciency and performance to adapting to changes in environ­mental protection requirements or grid integration.
In the hydropower nation of Brazil, which ranks only be­hind China and the United States in terms of installed ca­
pacity, some important plants were built in the 1970s andare therefore candidates for comprehensive modernization
measures. These include the Paulo Afonso and Porto
Colombia power plants, which are operated by CHESF and
Furnas and owned by the Eletrobras electric utility com­pany. Voith Hydro has been working successfully with Bra­
zil’s energy companies for many years and has now
been contracted to carry out the modernizations that are
now due.
A Large-Scale Project
The hydropower plant in Porto Colombia was connected to
the grid in 1974 and is located on the Rio Grande on theborder between the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

This project’s comprehensive measures include:•	Refurbishment of the plant’s four 80 MW
Kaplan turbines, the associated generators and theoverhead crane•	Modernization of the mechanical and electricalauxiliary systems•	Monitoring, protection and control systems•	Inspection of the actuator systems as well
as refurbishment of the hydro steel structure as head­water trash rack, stop log and spillways gates
The modernization project ensures the performanceand production of the hydroelectric power plant using
advanced technologies while extending its useful life. Dino
Lima, the project manager at Voith in charge of themodernization, explains: “The modernization of this plantalso includes changing the analog plant’s components
to digital instruments and components.” The digitalization
will make it easier to control the systems and contributeto greater operational reliability. This, in turn, increases
the reliability of the national power grid and avoids downtime for repairs. Lima emphasizes: “Ensuring the out­put
and range of the machines means more power is available
to the grid, even during the dry season.”

1

2

Brazil andHydropower
•
•
•
•

•

•

 razil currently has more than 2,000Bhydropower plants in operation
The most important hydropower plants
were built in the 1970s
The country’s total installed capacity
is roughly 100 GW
In terms of installed capacity, Brazil
ranks third in the world (behind China andthe U.S.)
Today, renewable energy sources
already account for 80% of the country’s
electricity
Hydropower accounts for 65% of therenewable energy mix

4x
80 MW

1	The Porto Colombia hydropower plantdams the Rio Grande, which at thispoint forms the border between the statesof Minas Gerais and São Paulo.

Porto Colombia
Rio GrandeRiver
Federal State São Paulo / Minas Gerais
Station2	Dino Lima is the project manager
responsible for the modernization of the
Porto Colombia plant.
08 transformhypower N° 34

hypower N° 34

transform 09

You Never Know What to Expect
The partners signed the contract for the modernization inlate August 2022, and now the project is in its executive
design stage. One of the challenges at the beginning is toaccurately calculate the costs without knowing the ma­chinery from the inside. “When refurbishing such an aged
unit, you never know what to expect when you open itup,” explains Lima. “To conduct a more detailed analysis,
the unit must be stopped and disassembled. That’s when
the hard work begins.” The customer can rely on Voith
Hydro’s expertise; its employees have years of experience
with turbines and generators as well as with all the auxiliary systems, including the control systems that surroundthe core components. And their modernization is one ofVoith Hydro’s greatest strengths.
The Voith Hydro team has one year to modernize eachmachine unit. This means that the entire project is sched­
uled to run for five to six years. During the process, only theunit that is being modernized will be switched off. The
other turbines and generators will continue to run to ensure
a continuous power supply.

A Successful Partnership
Modernization work also recently began on the PauloAfonso complex, one of the largest plants in Brazil. The com­plex consists of three dams and five hydropower plants.
It is located on the São Francisco River near the city of PauloAfonso in the state of Bahia, Brazil.
Alexandre Bueno has been a project manager since2021 and explains: “We started with the modernization of
Paulo Afonso 4. It has a total of six units, each of which
has a capacity of 400 MW. This means we still have three tofour years of work ahead of us. Our long-term partnership,
which goes back some 60 years, was one of the factorsthat led to us being contracted to carry out the moderniza­tion.”
The age of the plant is one of the main reasons for the
upgrade. A large part of the components still date from the1970s. This means that Voith will have to completely re­place all of the mechanical components, such as the valves,pipes and pumps, as well as all of the electrical parts.
The team of experts from Voith Hydro only recently got
started and opened up the first unit in January. “We’re up­
grading the hydraulic equipment and replacing the oldrunner, the heart of the turbine, with a new one. This will in­crease efficiency and performance,” notes Bueno.

Engineering in 3D
Voith Hydro is already using the latest technology aheadof the actual upgrade itself, in the form of the building infor­
mation modeling (BIM) digital planning method. BIM is adigital representation of the physical and functional charac­
teristics of a building and typically includes information
about building materials, equipment and systems, as wellas energy performance and sustainability data. Thesemodels help during building planning, design, construction
and maintenance. “BIM is included in our scope of ser­vices,” explains Alexandre Bueno. “We have a highly quali­
fied and committed team that takes care of this. Theirscans are then used to create a 3D model.”The customer uses BIM primarily for its asset manage­
ment activities. “The idea is that all the components areinterconnected, and the customer can use a computer tocontrol, monitor and, if necessary, replace parts of thesystem. BIM offers the customer maximum flexibility. Thiswas science fiction until recently, but now it’s a reality.”

Gaining access to the power unit is quite difficult, as it
is in an enclosed area. The team has to go down almost 100
meters by crane to get the turbine out of the shaft. Once it
has been lifted out, another challenge lies ahead: the space
available in the powerhouse to disassemble the unit is ex­tremely limited. On top of that is the tight schedule, as
disassembly and the delivery of new parts have to be pre­cisely timed and coordinated.
Why The Upgrade is so Important
Reliable plant operation is crucial for the customer, as itis responsible for the national power supply and must avoid
power outages. “This modernization project is intended
to give the customer greater flexibility and security,” ex­plains Bueno. “In Brazil, hydropower is the largest source ofelectricity. Brazil is currently investing heavily in solar
and wind power, although their yields fluctuate. But thena­tional power grid needs a stable base in order to handle
this transformation – and hydropower provides that.”

6x
400 MW

3	The team around Alexandre Bueno
together with the customer during theacceptance of a runner.
4	The historic photograph from the 1970s
shows the transport of a Francis turbine for
Paulo Afonso.
5	The Paulo Afonso hydropower plant in
Bahia, Brazil.

Paulo AfonsoRiver São Francisco
Bahia
Federal State
Station4

3
10 transformhypower N° 34

hypower N° 34

5transform 11

The modernization of the Roxburgh hydropower plant in New Zealandis an impressive example of international cooperation.

Gl balTeam

Supports
Sustainable Trailblazer

New Zealand is a country that is extremely advanced when it comes tothe use of renewable energy sources such as hydropower, geothermal and wind power. In 2021, their share of New Zealand’s total elec­
tricity consumption stood at an impressive 82.1 percent.
In this context, hydropower is the most important resource, respon­sible for nearly 60 percent of the nation’s total electricity generation.
But in order to be able to produce completely carbon-neutral electricity
by 2030, the existing plants must now be modernized and brought up
to the current state of the art.
One such facility is the Roxburgh hydropower plant, which is owned
and operated by New Zealand’s second-largest electricity provider,Contact Energy. The power plant was brought into operation between
1956 and 1962. It still generates its power using the eight original tur­bines, the first four of which were installed in 1956/57 and the remaining
four in 1960/61.
Contact Energy’s plan is to upgrade four of the turbines by 2026
and extend the life of critical components by up to 40 years. The goal isfor a more efficient and modern design to increase the plant’s output
in order to ensure that the region has a reliable supply of electricity –especially during the dry season, when water is scarce. To this end, theupgrade will allow the plant to use existing water volumes more effi­
ciently, generating an additional 44 GWh in an average year.

New Zealand’s
Sustainable Energy Mix

1
Impressive:
The Roxburgh
Dam backs up the
Clutha Riverover a length of 28.5
kilometers to awidth of 667 meters.

“The
teamwork
betweenVoith Hydro’s
internationalsites isimpressive.”

20,000GWh

10,000

0
2000

1990
Coal

Geothermal

2010
Hydro

Natural Gas

2020

Gaurav Saxena
DeputyGeneral Manager atVoith Hydro

Wind

2

2
Eight turbines
are at theheart of the
Roxburgh power
station.
3
A teamwith Voith employees
from India and
New Zealand shared
the work.
12 transformhypower N° 34

hypower N° 34

3Perfect Global Teamwork
Voith Hydro was contracted to upgrade the critical
turbine components of these four units (40 MWeach). Voith’s services include designing the newrunner, model testing, as well as production, in­stallation and initial startup.
To take full advantage of Voith Hydro’s
strengths that are spread across the globe, aninternational team is dividing up the work. On
the one hand, model testing of the new runner was
successfully carried out at Voith Hydro’s hydrauliclaboratory in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. On
the other hand, detailed planning, manufacturing
and project management will be carried out by
Voith Hydro in India, with support from Voith Hydro
in Germany. During the bidding phase, additional
support was even provided by the teams from
Spain and Italy. The challenge of reconciling andcoordinating the different time zones was mas­
tered with aplomb thanks to the team’s many yearsof experience.
Founding a subsidiary in New Zealand andappointing Nikhil Kumar as the new Country Man­
ager were important steps in making this projecta success. This means Voith Hydro is closer to thecustomer and can effectively manage the tasks
on site. The collaboration between New Zealand,
project management and Voith Hydro’s project
team in India and globally has been exceptional.
“It’s an awesome experience for Voith Hydro
employees to be involved in this project andthereby help New Zealand achieve its ambitious
goal of generating 100% of its electricity fromrenewable energy sources,” said Kumar, com­menting on the project. And project manager
Gaurav Saxena added: “The teamwork between
Voith Hydro’s international sites is impressive.”transform 13

Voith Hydro in the United States plays a
key role in the modernization oflarge hydroelectric power plants – as current
projects for the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers (USACE) at Fort Randall and
Norfork show.

1	The Norfork Dam in Baxter County, Arkansas,
was built in 1944.
2	Francis turbines at the Voith plant in York,
Pennsylvania.
3	A Francis turbine is transported with theoverhead crane.
4	Interior view of the Fort Randall powerhouse.

The United States has a long tradition of hydropower generation andhas a large installed fleet of facilities. According to the U.S. Departmentof Energy, hydropower currently accounts for 31.5% of the renewableenergy capacity. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) esti­mates that 2,270 hydropower plants were in operation in the UnitedStates in 2019 – with an average age of roughly 60 years. This meansthat many of the hydropower plants in the U.S. are operating beyond
their expected life and may need to be upgraded or overhauled to im­prove their performance and efficiency. Environmental performance
improvements are also possible during these major modernization ac­
tivities.
This is true for the Norfork power plant in Arkansas and the Fort
Randall power plant in South Dakota. Both are operated by the USACE,a federal agency that is the largest owner-operator of hydropower
generation in the United States. To modernize these two plants, theUSACE engaged Voith Hydro, with whom it has already successfullycom­pleted many hydropower modernization projects. Both projects in­volve upgrading the generator and turbine equipment.

Fit f r3

1

2
14 transformhypower N° 34

Work on the Fort Randall project began in Jan­uary 2022 with hydraulic design and model test­
ing. “Once the first runner is manufactured and de­livered to the site in Pickstown, South Dakota,
installation work will begin on site. We expect the
project to be finished in roughly 2031,” says proj­
ect manager Abraham Camacho. By then, Voith
Hydro will have manufactured and installed a totalof eight new Francis turbine runners and gener­
ator stator rewinds.
Quality and adherence to schedules are top
priorities in modernization projects, especially on
this scale. Voith Hydro has one of the world’s
largest hydropower manufacturing facilities in York,
Pennsylvania, which is dedicated specifically to
the North American market. This not only short­ens distances and speeds up coordination; it also
creates American jobs and economic develop­
ment opportunities. Runner design and critical
overhaul work for Fort Randall will be performedin York.
“The Norfork hydropower plant was completed
in 1944 and currently consists of two turbine-­
generator units with a capacity of 31.3 MW each,”says Voith Hydro’s Norfork project manager
Eric Chronister. “Once the upgrade is completed,hypower N° 34

4which we expect to happen in 2028, each unit will be capable of deliv­
ering up to 46.5 megawatts while also improving the environmental
impacts of the original station.” As such, this overhaul will increase theplant’s capacity by just under 50%.
The Norfork project is not only about increasing output; it is also
about improving water quality downstream of the dams. Yadu Banjara,
Voith Hydro VP of Account Management for USACE Projects explains:“In the southeastern United States, the level of dissolved oxygen instreams and rivers can fall to extremely low levels. This affects vegeta­tion and the wildlife habitat in the water. Voith has developed aerating
runner tech­nology that specifically tackles this challenge by allowing air
to be drawn into the water passage to increase dissolved oxygen
downstream.” This technology is now being used in Norfork.
Modernization also plays an important role for non-federally heldhydropower stations. With the support of tax incentives and grants,
the hydropower industry is investing in infrastructure upgrades, the ex­pansion of existing facilities, as well as the construction of newhydropower projects. When coupled with Voith’s ability to source andmanufacture within the United States, these investments create job
opportunities and stimulate economic growth while enhancing the over­all stability and health of the U.S. energy grid.

transform 15

ActionProactive
Asset
ManagementinContinuous
Modernization
Strategy

In contrast to a full-scale overhaul at a fixed point in time, SSE Renew­
ables pursues an Asset Management strategy of continuous life
cycle-based upgrades of components and systems in order to continu­
ously maximize availability. “The secret to this approach is proactively
investing in the right assets at the right time to minimize periods of down­time. Our expertise lies in providing our customers with the best pos­sible support in deciding which components need to be upgraded
and when,” says Markus Wirth, Head of Sales Western Europe at Voith
Hydro.
In this context, Voith Hydro’s goal is always to work in partnershipwith its customers and help them achieve their business goals in thebest possible way. This was also the case here – after the rebuild, SSE
Renewables’ Hydro business recorded the best year in its history.
“We are proud to work with Voith Hydro as a key partner for our Hy­
dro business. The team’s technical expertise has helped us meet, andexceed, our goals as we modernize our existing fleet to maximize its
flexibility and energy security. Hydropower is Scotland’s original sourceof renewable energy and one that has an increasingly vital role sup­porting the country’s path to achieving net zero carbon emissions.
There­fore, we will advance its future together with further landmark proj­
ects,” says Finlay McCutcheon, Director of Onshore Renewables,
Europe at SSE Renewables.

SSE Renewables relies on continuous,
regularly scheduled upgrades
for Foyers to maximize the availabilityof the pumped storage plant.

SSE Renewables is part of SSE plc and owns a significant fleet of re­newable energy assets. The company currently generates 1955 MWwith onshore and 579 MW with offshore wind turbines. In addition, SSE
Renewables’ hydro portfolio has a total installed capacity of 1460 MW,
including 300MW of pumped storage and 750MW of flexible hydro.
In this context, the Foyers pumped storage power plant (PSW) in oper­
ation since 1974, plays an important role in the fleet. With a capacityof 300 MW and two machine units, it provides vital flexibility for theelectricity grid, allowing energy to be stored for when it is needed most.
Voith Hydro has been a key partner in the modernization of SSE Re­
newables’ plants for more than 20 years.

2004

2006

2012

2014

2018/192019/202021

Voith Hydro completely upgrades the plant’s control technology and parts of theelectrical auxiliary systems.

The partners sign a maintenance contract for thecomponents that Voith Hydro
upgraded, which is still inplace today.

The spherical valves, eachweighing almost 100 tons
and with an inside diameter ofnearly three meters, are replaced. They can now close under full flow, which was notpossible before. This considerably increases plant safety.

Voith Hydro launches its AssetLive Assessment solution
at Foyers. This analysis enables
recommendations to be madein order to plan appropriate
measures. This can prevent unplanned operational downtime while optimizing plant performance.

Asset Live Assessment is updated, discovering vulner­
abilities in highly stressed components that could
impact the Foyers plant’s availability. One of these concerned the rotor-pole connections, which had
already resulted in damage at another operator’s power
plant. SSE Renewables was shown solutions toprevent damage and minimize plant downtime during
the rebuild.

A major rebuild began in 2019,and in March 2020 – during theheight of the coronavirus pandemic – the upgraded plant was
successfully brought on line
remotely. This was carried out
by SSE Renewables’ highly
qualified on-site staff and Voith
Hydro experts from the Brunnenmuehle site in Heidenheim,
Germany, using Voith Hydro
OnCall.Video.

On Voith Hydro’s recommendation, SSE
Renewables uses digital health assessments
to analyze the plant’s operating data andidentify problems or even potential damage
at an early stage. The analyses prove tobe very useful for the continuous operationof the plant because three decisive factors converge here to provide a reliable diag­nostic solution: data sets covering a long
operating period, the extensive library of algorithms, and Voith Hydro’s expert knowledge. As a result, SSE Renewables decides
to extend the contract for Voith Hydro’s
digital health assessments after an initial
trial period.

During implementation, Voith Hydro was able to shorten
the schedule further by cleverly optimizing the assembly sequences.
“The rotor rims consist of thousands of metal sheetsthat are stacked up to a height of two meters using adevice that is accurate to hundredths of a millimeter.
Assembly was so precisely executed that none of the usu­
al adjustments and balancing of the machine wererequired when bringing the unit into service. The teamon site did a fantastic job,” says project manager
Laura Merkl.
16 transformhypower N° 34

hypower N° 34

transform 17

A

Renewable energy, new roads, jobs – entire regions
can benefit from hydropower, as the modernization of the
Wanjii small hydropower plant in Kenya shows.

Boost
The Wanjii hydropower plant in Kenya is close to 70 years old since its
commissioning in 1952. Over time, the power units became technol­
ogically obsolete and expensive to maintain. The operator, Kenya Elec­tricity Generating Company Ltd. (KenGen) contracted Voith Hydro
to modernize the plant and simultaneously increase its existing capacityof 7.4 MW by more than 10%. In addition, KenGen’s tender specifica­
tions required Voith to take steps to reduce the time and effort required
to maintain and replace the turbines, generators and control technol­ogy for modern components. Upgrading the hydropower plant’s tech­
nology also included automating the plant and equipping it with a re­mote-control system.
The two companies have a long-standing and fruitful partnershipsince the time of the successful Gitaru and Kiambere projects, where
the Voith Hydro team displayed unique expertise in hydro technology.
KenGen was happy when Voith Hydro successfully won the bid to up­
grade and refurbish the power plant.
The small hydro plant’s machines were originally supplied by
S. Morgan Smith, a company later acquired by Voith. As a result, Voith
Hydro’s engineers had all the plans at their disposal, which made itmuch easier to develop the modernization concept. This played a keyrole during the design of the new equipment, reducing the time re­quired for site work and installation.

to theRegion10%

increasein capacity

Modernization of the
Wanjii small hydropower plant
improves energy supply:2

1
The hydropower
plant has been
supplying the region
with energy forover 70 years.

A New Road for the Region
The COVID-19 pandemic, which set all of theplans back by a year, was not the only challenge
facing the project. Up until that point, only a nar­row trail led to the hydropower plant, meaningthat a road had to be built first. Also, the old andinclined winch and trolley system at the site
proved not to be safe enough for transporting theturbines to their final destination and was re­placed by a new access via the road by KenGen.
The modernization of the power plant not
only improved the region’s power supply but also
added value by expanding the local infrastructure and creating new opportunities. “During thefive years we were on site, you could really feelthe boost to the region,” recalls Voith Hydro proj­
ect manager Edilmar Filho. “The people were
extremely grateful.”

2
3

The constructionof new transport routes eases
the logisticalchallenges.

The Voith and
KenGen team ishappy about
the modernization.

1

3

Duringthefive years
we wereon site, you
could
really feel the
boost tothe region.”
Edilmar Filho
Voith Hydro Project Manager

18 transformhypower N° 34

hypower N° 34

transform 19

Even from a distance, the picturesquely locatedTinfos power plant’s past is clearly visible. In the
background, the Tinfossen waterfall pours down,
and old millstones surround the plant’s brickbuildings. They are a reminder of the paper millthat was the first to use the waterpower of the
Tinnelva River here in 1877 to provide lighting bymeans of a small generator. The Tinfos power
plant’s historic buildings, which date back to thetime of Norway’s industrialization, have been a
UNESCO cultural heritage site since 2015.

C

A

B

A
B
C

Tinfos I power station.
Tinfos II power station.
Paper mill.

The lightning ornamentson the front of Tinfos­represent the ­generationof ­electricity.

Historical pictureof the turbinesof Tinfos I.

From

Paper
to

Hydropower
Norway’s industrial history goes hand in hand with the use ofhydropower – as the upgrades to the Tinfos plant show.

20 transformhypower N° 34

An Historic Connection
The Tinfos power plant is also a historic site for
Voith. The plaques on the turbines in the former
Tinfos I plant testify to the fact that Voith turbines
have been generating electricity here since
the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, theprac­tical combination of paper production andhydropower is also part of Voith’s early company
history. Indeed, after the metalworking shop’s
specialization in paper machines, the constructionof hydropower turbines became the company’s
second main line of business from the 1870s on­ward.
But back to Norway. In 1901, Tinfos I was builtwith horizontal Francis twin turbines from Voith
with a total output of about 6 MW. This power­house initially supplied an artificial fertilizer factory.
In 1910, the second powerhouse, Tinfos II, wasadded to produce energy for the Tinfos Jernverk
AS melting plant being built there at Lake Hed­
dalsvatn. After Tinfos II was fully operational withthree turbines in 1912, a fourth unit with a vertical
Francis turbine was added to the powerhouse in
1925. In the mid-1970s, units 1, 2 and 3 of Tinfos II were decommissioned. Unit No. 4 is still in
operation and provides a 10-year average produc­tion of about 22 GWh with the original runner.

Voith – Before
Hydropower,
There Was Paper:
Paper manufacturing has a long tradition at Voith.
Johann Matthäus Voith designed the first wood
grinder to produce paper from wood fibers back in
1859. Voith Paper is a division of the Voith Group.
As a full-line supplier to the paper industry, it delivers
the broadest range of technologies, services andproducts on the market. Today, a large part of total
global paper production is carried out on Voith
paper machines. In this context, Voith Paper places
a special focus on sustainability and an efficient,resource-friendly manufacturing process.
hypower N° 34

An anecdote from Steinar Maalen, the Voith Hydro employee re­sponsible for business development in the Nordics, shows just how
long-lasting Voith turbines are: “A turbine and a generator from the old
Tinfos I from 1901 were purchased by the city of Harstad in northern
Norway for another power plant. Previously, the machines were inspect­
ed by an expert from the local technical university who certified
that they had an expected service life of another 15 years. It turned out,how­ever, that they still ran for more than 30 years.”

Historical plaques showthat the partnership with Voith
goes back over 100 years.

The machine room in the Tinfos II power
plant. The three generators from1912 are no longer in operation today.

Tinfos I/II

Voith Hydro also contributed tothe plants’ long service life by carryingout extensive upgrades:

1901/06

The old Tinfos I was brought into service withthe first machine unit in 1901 and the second in
1906. Both turbines were from Voith Hydroand supplied approx. 4 to 5 MW of electricity.

1910/11/12
1925

The original turbines for Tinfos II in 1910 alsocame from Voith Hydro, with others added
in 1911 and 1912 and later turbine No. 4 in
1925, delivering 6 MW.

1955

In 1955, the Tinfos I power plant was rebuilt
at a different location and its predecessor was
taken off the grid. In the new power plant, aKaplan unit with a Voith turbine 26,000 hp anda Siemens generator produced about 21 MWof energy.

1975

In 1975, the three old Tinfos II units were takenout of service and replaced with a large
27,400 hp Kaplan turbine installed in the new
Tinfos I, which greatly improved efficiency.

1990–92

In 1990 to 1992, the automation equipment
was replaced in the new Tinfos I power plant.

1997

Tinfos I unit No. 1 was upgraded in 1997 witha new runner from Voith.

“Tinfos is one of the oldest hydropower plants in the world. Thanks to awide range of upgrades, it continues to supply green electricity tothis day. We are delighted that we’ve been able to contribute to this his­
toric hydropower success story through our expertise over all these
decades,” says Maalen.
transform 21

Clean for Copper andPower Communities
The Inga 2 power
station is fedby the mighty Congo
River.

Through a comprehensive modernization of
the existing station by decommissioning
one of the old power units and the complete­installation and commissioning of a new groupin its place, Voith is increasing the capacityof Inga 2 to 178 MW.
The Inga Falls in the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of thelargest waterfalls in the world. The Congolese energy company SNEL
SA operates the Inga 2 run-of-river power plant there. Along with the­project, SNEL SA is represented by the engineering company GRUNERSTUCKY. The main customer for the green electricity produced thereis the Canadian copper mining company Ivanhoe Mines. This not
only benefits the mining company but also the local population, and it
tackles the local energy shortage.
Having been in operation for 40 years, Voith Hydro was engaged tocomprehensively modernize one of the plant’s operating groups.
The goal is to increase the installed capacity by 10 percent while main­taining the same flow rate and water level. As a result, the upgraded
plant is expected to generate roughly 16 MW more power.
The modernization project includes a new turbine, a new generator
and a complete overhaul of the mechanical and electrical systems,
such as the transformers, compressed air system, firefighting systemand cooling water system. In addition, several hydraulic systems will
be replaced and upgraded.
22 transform

Furthermore, Inga 2 is going to become
more digital. Working closely with the customer,
Voith Hydro has developed solutions that allow
the monitoring of several components, such as thewater gap, and the control of the power unit pro­duction at any time. This enhances the protectionof the mechanical parts and also allows better
control of the generator output.
The logistics are challenging because the ma­
terial has to be delivered via two different ports,
and unloading the more than 5,000 individual parts
is a time-consuming and complex task. What’smore, some of the components are more than
12 meters long and therefore cannot be ship­ped
in standard containers, requiring special sea
logistics and even more complex overland trans­
port to the construction site.
“The turbine components are heavy and ex­
tra-long, and the roads also have length limits that
we have to adhere to,” says Voith Hydro project
manager Joao dos Santos Ferreira.
His personal conclusion: “The tight scheduleand the demanding technical and organizational requirements make the modernization of Inga 2a special project that gives me the opportunity
to apply all my experience as a manager and me­
chanical engineer.”

Page 23

36

A Look at Key Trends

innovate

Green electricity
for copper mines:

10
178

more installedcapacity%

installed
capacity“We are driven by the ambition to continuously advance our customers’ businesses withnew solutions. Creative problem-solving is of great importance for this purpose.
My experience has shown that diversity and close international collaboration contribute
greatly to fostering this innovative thinking – and that’s exactly what we do at Voith.”
Junji Kasagi
Managing Director Voith Hydro in Kawasaki

MWhypower N° 34

hypower N° 34

innovate 23

Horizontally
Horizontally

Voith Hydro is setting new
standards with the first horizontal,
six-nozzle Pelton turbine.

1	Two-part distribu­
tion channel.
2

Revolutionary

Jet protection roof.

3	Cone for water­discharge.

1

3

2

24 innovate

hypower N° 34

hypower N° 34

innovate 25One particular challenge has kept Voith Hydro’s development
engineers busy for more than 10 years: What if we could
arrange Pelton turbines with three or more nozzles horizon­tally without sacrificing performance, instead of vertically,as is the norm today?
Wouldn’t this make maintenance work and repairs mucheasier and safer? In addition, it would be possible to replace turbines without major structural works in the event ofa plant modernization. Furthermore, new plants would re­quire less excavation work and a smaller footprint.
The first Pelton turbines were positioned horizontallyand equipped with one or two nozzles. If they were built withmore nozzles, however, the backsplashing water slowed
down the runner and thus reduced the turbine’s efficiency. In
order to be able to use more nozzles and thereby increase
output, turbines with vertical shafts were therefore installedfrom the 1950s onwards. In this arrangement, the water dis­charged by the buckets can be drained upwards and down­wards without much effort.
“We asked ourselves how we could combine the advan­
tages of a horizontal shaft with those of a six-nozzle arrange­
ment,” explains Reiner Mack, a development engineer atVoith Hydro. It quickly became clear to him that the only way
to install more nozzles in a horizontal turbine was to improve the water management.

HP3+“We asked
ourselves how
we could
combine theadvantages ofa horizontal
shaft withthose ofa six-nozzle
arrangement.”

The flow simulation
virtually displays,among other things,
the turbulence ofthe backsplashingwater.

Reiner Mack
Development Engineer, Voith Hydro

Using Existing Space More Effectively
But how could this challenge be solved horizontally? Mack
describes Voith Hydro’s approach like this: “We ef­fectively
utilize the available space by using a cone that acts both as abaffle plate for the outflowing water and as a drain for thewater that would fall back onto the runner without the cone.”
This prevents the runner from being slowed down by watersplashing back onto it.
The implementation of this concept in the real world
was preceded by complex simulations and model tests. “Theinteraction between the water jet and the buckets of thePelton wheel is extremely short, often just a few milliseconds,”
explains Peter Mössinger, responsible for the Pelton tur­bines’ numerical flow simulation.
This is why numerical forecasting of the bucket flow is
extremely complex and requires a great deal of effort. “In ad­
dition, we refined the methods in recent years so that we can
now also analyze the housing flow or the water flow down­
stream of the turbine. This progress played a significant rolein the successful development of the new concept.”
But the model testing technology also faced new chal­lenges. “The greatest difficulty our model machine designers
faced was certainly ensuring that we had the flexibility
to make advancements to the housing,” explains Mössinger.
“Not all numerically developed versions prove themselves
right away, which means that flexibility in the model machineis extremely important.”

26 innovate

hypower N° 34

hypower N° 34

HP3+, which stands
for a horizontal
Pelton turbine withthree or morenozzles, is the namegiven to this innovation by Voith
Hydro. An increasein the numberof nozzles results in
an increase inpower density andthus also in speed.
As a result, both
the generator andthe turbine canbe made smaller.

Everything at the Same Height Makes
Maintenance Easier
Ultimately, the many years of research paid off, and the newconcept has been able to meet expectations. Voith Hydro
calls the innovation HP3+, which stands for horizontal Peltonturbines with three or more nozzles. Increasing the numberof nozzles increases the power density and thus also the rota­
tional speed. As a result, both the generator and turbine
can be built smaller.
Mack sees another major advantage: “Servicing a hori­zontal machine is much easier than a vertical shaft because
everything is on one level in a horizontal arrangement.” The
maintenance team can stay on one floor and in the power­house environment when servicing the turbine and has a di­rect view of the overhead crane. When installing verticalarrangements, the installation team often has to work acrossseveral floors under makeshift lighting conditions using
chain hoists. Accordingly, this requires much more effort tocreate a safe working environment. “Our colleagues from
St. Pölten came up with a lot of ideas during the mechanicaldesign work for the HP3+ in order to be able to service theturbine quickly and safely,” says Mössinger. “The result has
likewise been innovative solutions that didn’t exist before.”
In addition, about 20 years ago, companies started
to completely gut old powerhouses that were equipped withhorizontal machines in order to then use vertical machines.
This required dismantling the underwater channels and theentire infrastructure on site. Because the powerhouse is
too low to properly perform maintenance on a vertical ma­chine, however, this solution always remained a compromise.
“When performing general maintenance, it is often neces­sary to tilt the entire generator and then dismantle the rotor ina horizontal position. This obviously involves a considerable
amount of work,” explains Mack. When utilizing horizontal
units, this effort is, of course, no longer required. Construc­tion measures are also much more modest, as the newhorizontal machines can, ideally, be placed on top of the ex­
isting foundations.
The new turbine was presented to the public for the firsttime at a leading international hydropower conference inVienna. The concept generated a great deal of interest there
from hydropower operators. The exciting question wasthen how the new turbine would prove itself in practice. The
corresponding pilot project was already underway. Thiswas because Voith Hydro had already found a suitable com­pany that had the necessary pioneering spirit, courageand technical understanding required for the new solution.

innovate 27

326
GWh

1600 masl (Meters above sea level)

1500

1389.00 masl

1400

Surge shaft

1405.00 masl

Reservoir center
Average gross head
117.90 m
1300
Mühlbachcatchment
1232 masl

Surge shaft

1200

1205.8 masl

1271.10 masl

Schwarzach
catchment

Turbine center line

1191.25 masl

1186.50 masl

Reservoir center

Head race tunnel
ion 5.7 ‰length 6168 m, inclinat
1100

Gmünd reservoir
Usable capacity 0.85 million m3
max. Level 1191.25 masl
min. Level 1176.23 masl

Powerhouse
Funsingau
25,000 kW

Durlaßboden
reservoir
Usable capacity 50.7 million m3
max. Level 1405.00 masl
min. Level 1360.00 masl

1	The two powerhouses
Gerlos I (right) and
Gerlos II in the Zillertal.

LegendPressure tunnel

1000

Catchment tunnel

ch
Ge

900

2	Innovative turbine­developers at Voith:
Reiner Mack,
Dr. Peter Mössinger and
Dr. Jörg Necker.

sb
a
rlo

Penstock1015 mAverage gross head
610.50 m

800

700
Powerhouse
Gerlos + Gerlos II
200,200 kW
600
Flat track 446.0 m
500

Gerlos hydropower plants, waterway longitudinal section

The candidate that met these requirements is none otherthan Austria’s leading energy transition company Verbund.
It operates the Gerlos 1 storage power plant in the Zillertal val­
ley in Tyrol. This plant was brought into operation in 1949
and now has an annual capacity of 326 GWh. As a result, thepower plant supplies over 70,000 four-person householdswith renewable energy, as the first six-nozzle horizontal Peltonturbine has been successfully in operation here since Oc­
tober 2022. It replaced the four two-nozzle vertical machinespreviously installed.
Although the equipment itself is more expensive with thehorizontal solution, customers save that much more whenit comes to construction costs. This is because the turbine
can be replaced without major construction work, whichsaves a massive amount of time and money. And the fact thatfewer machines are in operation also reduces maintenancecosts in the future.
28 innovate“At
the Gerlos 1
plant, fourvery old vertical
turbines were
replaced with one
horizontal
unit because thepowerhouseceiling was too
low and thepowerhouse area
was too small
for a vertical one.”

1

2

2022
The year in which the firsthorizontal Pelton turbine with six­nozzles was commissioned.

Reiner Mack
Development Engineer, Voith Hydro
hypower N° 34

Commissioned in1949, Gerlos 1 now
generates 326 GWh
per year. This isenough to supply
more than 70,000
four-person households with renewableenergy. The plant’s
first six-duct­horizontal Pelton­turbine has been
­operating­successfully since
October 2022.

Perfect for Modernization Projects
The pilot project also clearly shows why the horizontal ar­
rangement of the Pelton turbines particularly benefits
modernization projects: “At the Gerlos 1 plant, four very old
vertical turbines were replaced with one horizontal unit be­cause the powerhouse ceiling was too low and the power­house area was too small for a vertical one,” Mack explains.
The specification originally envisaged a conventional twin
unit with one generator and two two-nozzle turbines each.
There simply wasn’t enough installation space for thissolution, however. “For our HP3+ solution, we were able togain valuable space by developing the inlet numerically,”
Mössinger adds. “This ensured that the unit would be well
positioned in the powerhouse for all maintenance opera­
tions.”
These advantages are also proving their merits in a sec­
ond pilot project at the Vermuntwerk plant in Vorarlberg,
which is operated by Illwerke. Here, five two-nozzle units arebeing replaced by two turbines with six nozzles – while total plant capacity will remain the same. “Two turbines means
you only have to maintain two runners and two generators
and also only two transformers, instead of five like before. This
will significantly reduce maintenance costs.”
Mack has been involved in the development of this inno­
vative solution from the very beginning. “It was great seeing
the first prototype of an HP3+ installed and then in opera­tion.” To him, one thing is abundantly clear: “On the one hand,developing a solution like this requires members of man­agement at Voith who have the necessary vision to see thatsuch an idea will be successful. On the other hand, con­fidence in our solution on the part of customers, which has
grown over many years of continuous collaboration, is also
necessary. At the end of the day, we want our customers to
be satisfied with our turbines, that’s the main thing.”

hypower N° 34

innovate 29

Virtual

Digital models support
moderni­zation –like this 3D graphicof the spillway
in Paulo Afonso.

F rst
3D scans and Building Information
Modeling – BIM for short – arethe buzzwords for the new approach toconstruction, planning and asset
management. They also deliver significant benefits in hydropower projects.

The hydropower
plant in PauloAfonso, Brazil, as a
virtual BIM model.
30 innovate

Not New, but with New Possibilities
BIM is nothing new – it was first introduced in the con­struction industry about 20 years ago. But now this software-­based methodology is increasingly becoming the newstandard above and beyond traditional projects in the con­struction industry. The market and academia agree thatharnessing the power of digital tools such as BIM is the key
to successfully completing complex projects.
Complex construction projects also include hydropower
plants. In this case, digital models also help improveplanning and design and optimize collaboration between
the many partners involved.
In fact, Voith is already working with the new possibilities
offered by BIM and with 3D scans when modeling plants.
In South America, for example, the company already offers
virtual tours of power plants here, as well as models of ex­
isting plants (known as “BIM as is”) or those of plants as they
are going to be built (“BIM as built”). It is also possible tocreate 3D models of entire hydropower plants or just partsof them.

So what is BIM exactly, and how does it differ from otherdigital planning methods such as 3D scans? BIM refers to adigital representation of the physical and functional char­acteristics of a building. It is used for building planning, de­sign, construction and maintenance. Building information
models typically contain information about building materials,
equipment and systems, as well as data on energy per­formance and sustainability.
hypower N° 34

While BIM is a step into the metaverse, 3D scans of theequipment or powerhouse are particularly helpful in modern­ization projects. The difference is that BIM is a process
and a set of tools that primarily help with planning and man­agement. 3D scans, on the other hand, are used to capture and create a digital representation of the real-world situ­
ation in the powerhouse.
As a result, 3D scans offer extremely valuable support,
especially in engineering. This is because the resulting
models can very precisely indicate what shape, dimension
or connection a component has. A part that needs to be
replaced can then be designed exactly according to these
specifications. It is also possible to virtually test whether
components fit the conditions on site. In the case of piping,for example, a veritable jungle often develops over thecourse of many years of operation, which is no longer ade­quately reflected in the paper plans. With a 3D scan, on
the other hand, the engineer sees not only all the pipelines
but also the dimensions and connection types, and can
prepare the modernization process accordingly.
Leading the Way Thanks to Digital Expertise
While BIM and 3D scans will soon be standard in otherconstruction industries, the hydropower sector is still in theearly-adopter phase in this regard. Numerous potential areas of applications are emerging for customers. In addition
to more accurate and therefore more efficient modernization
planning thanks to 3D scans, there are also advantages in
asset management and document organization.
As the technology becomes more widespread, otheruse cases will emerge. In any event, hydropower plant oper­
ators are expressing considerable interest in the possibili­ties. And with its experience and digital expertise, Voith isleading the way here.

One of the four
turbines in
Paulo Afonso.

hypower N° 34

The 3D model of the powerhousehelps to visualize the specificspatial conditions in the power
plant.
innovate 31

M bile1

X

2

1

Management

X

X

for Hydropower
The smart app Hydro Pocket
helps to monitor processes andoptimize plants.

1

1

X

X

With the Hydro
Pocket app, optimizations are
possible via tablet.

1

X

Digital technologies to monitor technical systems via mobile devic­
es are pushing their way into an increasing number of industry
segments. The same is true for generating energy via hydropower
plants. Together with the digital company Ray Sono, Voith haslaunched the intelligent app Hydro Pocket that operators of smallhydropower plants can use to keep an eye on important parameters
related to their plant’s operational status. Specifically, the digitalproduct that Voith has rolled out internationally makes it possible tomonitor and optimize all of a plant’s processes from anywhere in
the world at the touch of a button via desktop, tablet and smart­phone. This means that the engineer doesn’t have to be on site, usea VPN connection or even speak with anyone directly.
Help When Making Decisions About Production Targets“Not only can Hydro Pocket be used to monitor energy production
and therefore revenue. Collecting real-time data from different
areas of the plant and its intelligent analysis also allows better deci­
sions to be made,” explains Gustavo Arantes, Product Manager
Hydro Pocket at Voith Hydro. Using the information displayed in theapp in graphical form, operators or investors in hydropower plants
are able to, for example, set individual production targets on the ba­
sis of current and historical data. Similarly, Hydro Pocket makes
it possible to check the status of grid connections or continuously
monitor the health of hydropower plants. A dashboard that can dis­play individual machine units, complete plants and even entire
fleets at the touch of a button provides a comprehensive overview.
Hydro Pocket can reduce long downtimes.
Users are notified of problems such as low water or overheating
through error messages and can respond in real time. They also
automatically receive predefined reports and can share them withall relevant stakeholders.
Comprehensive Security Mechanisms
Security is a top priority for Voith when it comes to Hydro Pocket. In
this context, Voith relies on a cybersecurity strategy known as
defense in depth. This involves layering a series of defense mecha­
nisms to protect valuable data and information.
At the power plant, every step of development is regularly docu­
mented and reviewed. The power plant hardware supplied by Voith
was developed according to a certified secure development pro­
cess in compliance with the IEC 62443-4-1 security standard. Voith
has developed a secure system architecture, including products
such as Hydro Pocket, based on threat analysis and risk assessment
according to IEC 62443.

1

X

2

X

About Ray Sono
As a full-service agency, Ray Sono designs companies’ and organizations’digital worlds. Its customers include brands such as Audi, BMW,
Linde and McDonald’s. In addition to its headquarters in Munich, Ray Sono
maintains a design lab in Berlin and another office in Frankfurt am Main.
Voith holds a majority stake in the company.

32 innovate

hypower N° 34

hypower N° 34

2XVoith and third-party companies regularly per­form audits of various parts of the systems in orderto evaluate and mitigate risks. Furthermore, Voith
is responsible for continuously and rapidly providing
new security updates. Data is only sent to thecloud in one direction via a protocol, so there is no
way to access PLCs and SCADAs via edge devices.
Up and Running in Just 10 Weeks
The effort required to set up the app is minimal –from receiving the equipment to installation, config­
uration and activation takes a maximum of 10
weeks. Furthermore, setup does not require any
major changes to the power plant or additional sen­sors or controllers – Hydro Pocket “plugs in” toexisting, standardized technologies such as SCADA(supervisory control and data acquisition) or con­dition monitoring and can be adapted to individual
needs and user groups.
To configure the system, the user receives
a starter kit that must be connected to the power
plant. This contains a gateway that serves to se­curely transmit the data via an encrypted connec­
tion to the Voith Cloud. Voith handles the configura­tion of the system. The user can then access theinformation directly from the cloud via an equally
secure and encrypted connection. As Arantes
explains, “We’re continuously updating and enhanc­
ing the app – we bring out a major release about
every two months and a small update about every
two weeks.”
Pilot Project in Indonesia, Other Plants
in Trial Operation
Hydro Pocket has now been in operation within thescope of an Indonesian pilot project for over a
year. The findings from this deployment contributed
significantly to the enhancement and design of theapp and its features. After its implementation at
the plant in Southeast Asia, Voith optimized the user
experience and the technical stability of the appli­
cation, among other things, together with Ray Sonoand incorporated feedback from the customer.
“In addition to the 12-MW plant in Indonesia, morethan 10 other plants in Europe and Southeast
Asia are now using Hydro Pocket in trial operation.
And a number of other customers have also al­
ready purchased Hydro Pocket and will soon haveit up and running.”
innovate 33

Sedimentation:
Voith’s SedimentCareProgram
offers a customized andenvironmentally friendly solution
to sedimentation issues.
At the heart of Voith’s SedimentCareProgram is afully automatic boat. Sediments are sucked from thebottom through a pipe and transported in low
concentrations via a pipeline to the hydropower plant.

The stirred-up sediment particles pass through thepipe into the penstock and can simply pass through theturbine with the flow of the water.

A

B

Each fully automated boat has a user interface. This
allows ­experts to constantly monitor the efficiency, productivity
and location of the boat and other process parameter.
Controlled sediment transport:
Continuous transfer ensuresthat the power plant operates ina sustainable manner.

D

New
Sustainable

Solution
34 innovate

Uncontrolled sediment­transport: Turbinesor other parts may bedamaged.

hypower N° 34

The amount of solids carried by the turbines is carefully
adapted to the particular hydropower plant and its environment.
This prevents damage to the turbines and unnecessaryinterruptions to operation. Each project lasts around one tothree years and is carried out in close coordination withlocal environmental authorities.

C
hypower N° 34

innovate 35

The problem of sedimentation in reservoirs has been known
for a long time. A recent UN study1 once again confirmsthat sediment deposits in reservoirs around the world reducethe capacity to store water. This has implications for thedrinking water supply, flood management and electricity pro­duction. According to the study, the worldwide storage
capacity will decline by one-quarter of the original storage
capacity by 2050. The loss of capacity at the roughly 50,000
sites analyzed in the study would add up to 1.65 trillion cubic
meters, or roughly the annual water consumption of India,
China, Indonesia, France and Canada combined.
For this reason, Voith Hydro now provides a service that
gently removes accumulated sediments from reservoirs
via the turbines. This isn’t only beneficial to the environment –the SedimentCareProgram is also highly competitive finan­cially.
Undesirable Minerals“Hydropower is the backbone of renewable and sustainable
power generation,” says Lorenz Lenhart, Product Manager
for the SedimentCareProgram at Voith Hydro. Ensuring thathydropower plants will still be used on a large global scale
to generate electricity and stabilize grids in the future not only
requires rivers, dams and the respective equipment. Sedi­
ments, i.e., loose mineral materials or organic particles thatare stirred up from the bottom of the waterway or enter therivers through precipitation, also play a decisive role “andcan therefore lead to malfunctions or even failures of the com­plex plants.” Lenhart knows. These sediments re­duce thestorage volume of reservoirs, thereby impairing power gen­eration as well as storage and discharge capacity, and in
the worst case, can even block the bottom outlets – an im­
portant safety feature of a dam.
1	Present and Future Losses of Storage in Large Reservoirs Due to
Sedimentation: A Country-Wise Global Assessment. 2022.

36 innovate

Active Environmental Protection“Scientific research on this topic in artificial dams and res­ervoirs dates back to the 1950s; however, people have
known about this challenge for as long as water has beenused for energy generation,” explains Lenhart. As thesedimentation of the reservoirs becomes increasingly visible,
this issue is now once again coming to societies and the in­dustries’ attention. According to the Voith expert, “If the sed­
iment deposits extend into the reservoir depths used for
power generation, energy production is no longer guaran­
teed.” But that’s not all. Flood control and drinking water pro­duction could also be affected by sediment deposition.
“You simply lose usable water volume.”
Ecological, Economical, Sustainable
Conventional methods of de-sedimentation, such as dredg­
ing or flushing, are comparatively expensive, inefficientand time-consuming. Important nutrients for flora and fauna
are also lost in the process and the natural sediment balancein the river is disrupted. Voith Hydro has come up with a
special procedure: “Our SedimentCareProgram is a service
we’ve developed to transport the sediment through thehydropower plants, just as if there wasn’t a plant there at all.”
The process mobilizes the sediment at the bottom of therespective water reservoir, transports it to the hydropower
plant, and injects the sediment continuously and in a con­trolled manner into the power plant’s penstock. As a result, it
is routed through the power plant with the moving water.
By offering the SedimentCareProgram, Voith Hydro is ex­panding its range of services in line with the company’s
DNA of developing sustainable technologies for future gen­erations. Due to its many years of experience with sedimentloads in hydropower plants and technological leadershipin turbine layout, simulation and design, Voith Hydro is best
positioned to offer a global solution for this issue and sup­port its customers to produce energy economically and sus­
tainably into the future.
“We wanted to develop a financially and environmentally
sustainable product and solve the sediment problem forall stakeholders – our customers, the environment and soci­ety at large,” explains Lenhart. Financially sustainable, be­cause the solution maintains the efficiency and re­covers the
productive capacity of the hydropower plants during de-sed­
imentation process, without creating unnecessary down­time. Environmentally sustainable, because the natural sed­
iment balance in the rivers and reservoirs is re-instated. “Theworld is looking to Europe when it comes to environmental
protection and respective solutions. We are subject tostrict regulations and work closely together with the environ­mental authorities.”
The SedimentCareProgram is “particularly exciting” –and not only for use in domestic waters. North America, Asia,and especially countries suffering from water shortages
such as nations in Southern Europe, North Africa and islandstates could re-instate their water storage capacities
without creating unnecessary water loss using conventional
methods. “Water is a valuable resource”, Lenhart puts it
succinctly.
hypower N° 34

Page 37

41

Insights and Inside Views

reflect“With our decades of experience, we find the best solution for every modernization of ahydropower plant and thus keep this traditional energy source eternally young.
That’s very important, because as the largest renewable energy, it also plays a supportingrole for future generations.”
Harald Haiduk
Coordinator Assembly

hypower N° 34

reflect 37

Hamburg,Germany

1,550 km

Short
Distances

Heidenheim,
Germany

1.5 h

1

2

1
Rijeka,Croatia

Marghera,
Italy

In Bosnia andHerzegovina, generator components
are produced for themarkets in Africa,
Europe and America.

450 km

660 km

At the end of last year, Voith Hydro opened its new center ofcompetence for generator components in Lukavac (Tuzla Canton), Bosnia and Herzegovina. The state-of-the-art facility
supplies products for the markets in Africa, Europe and America.
Its range includes bars, coils and poles for hydropower gen­erators.
The new center of competence is strategically locatedin the heart of Europe and only 1.5 hours by plane from Voith
Hydro’s German headquarters in Heidenheim. The site was
set up in close collaboration with experts from the company’s
Central Technology Department in Germany, where key research and development functions for generator components
are located.

2
Lukavac,Bosnia andHerzegovina

Production has beenrunning at fullspeed since the endof 2022.
3
Robots help
with productionin the stateof-the-art plant.

3

At the competence center in Lukavac,
in the northeast of Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Voith produces
bars, coils and poles for hydropower generators.

1.5 h

is all it takes from an airport near the Voith
headquarters in Heidenheim to Tuzla.
38 reflect

hypower N° 34

hypower N° 34

Short Distances, Fast Responses
Due to its proximity to company headquarters, customers benefit from short distances and fast response times. In addition,
ELIN Motoren – a Voith company that has been successfully pro­ducing motor and generator coils as well as wind generator
components for several years – has its Bosnian factory locatedin the immediate neighborhood.
Pole manufacturing is already in full swing, and bar and coilproduction has also begun. Beforehand, all products underwent
extensive life cycle simulations and high-voltage tests. These
were completed to management’s full satisfaction and not only
meet international standards but also Voith Hydro’s own highinternal standards of quality. The site is currently executing or has
already partially completed its first projects for customers from
Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and Switzerland.
“With this facility, we bundle our competence for bars, coils
and poles. The location in central Europe is ideal to serve not
only the European market but also Africa, the Americas and beyond,” says Dr. Tobias Keitel, President & CEO of Voith Hydro.
The feedback received from the facility’s first customers
has been very positive and confirms that the new centerof competence is a significant milestone for Voith Hydro and its
customers.
reflect 39

Life

with
Hydropower
York

About the Interviewee:
Lucas Kunz is Lead Expert Engineering at Voith Hydro
and has been working on modernization projects for morethan 30 years. His specialty is generator design,
manufacturing and assembly. He is based out of York,
Pennsylvania.

US

That sounds like an exciting and fulfilling job.
Yeah, it’s wonderful for an engineer, it never gets boring – whether
you’re working on a horizontal two-megawatt plant or a vertical
200-megawatt one. And in the process, you sometimes have to con­tend with plants that are over 90 years old, in other words mucholder than you are. That’s when you approach modernization with acertain degree of respect.

Shanghai

CN

Lucas Kunz has been working with hydro­
power plants for more than three
decades. From São Paulo to Shanghai, from
Berlin to York – his expertise has taken
the engineer all over the world. In this interview,
he tells us what matters most in successful
modernization projects.
How long have you been working in the field of hydropower?
I’ve been working with hydropower for more than 36 years. My profes­
sion has taken me around the world over the course of my career –from São Paulo to Berlin to Shanghai and finally to York, Pennsylvania,
where I have now been working for 18 years. That sounds like a longtime, but all I can say is I’m still learning and having a lot of fun with hy­
dropower.
40 reflectSão Paulo

BR

What is it about hydropower thatfascinates you personally?
What has always fascinated me the mostthroughout my professional career is the fact thatno two rivers are the same. The run of the river,regional and seasonal conditions, pump storage –there is always a new challenge, and we haveto adapt our technologies to achieve the required
performance.
hypower N° 34

What challenges do you currently see facing the industry?
The availability of materials due to the global political crises is certainly
a major challenge at the moment. Another issue is the shortageof skilled workers – many experienced hydropower experts are retiring
soon; others are migrating to what they perceive to be more modern
fields. We have to attract, train and retain skilled engineers. And, ofcourse, we’re still reeling from the pandemic. The postponement of nu­
merous projects in recent years has resulted in a backlog of work thatmust be addressed.
Why is modernization so important in the hydropower sector?
Many plants are more than 40 years old and haven’t been upgraded toany great extent – which, in principle, is an argument in favor of hydro­
power. Modernizations offer the opportunity to increase the capacity ofa power plant without changing the structural facilities. This is a con­siderable advantage over the construction of new plants, because con­struction accounts for 80 percent of the costs in a new plant project,while the electromechanical components only account for 20 percent.
This means that if you only have to invest in the latter, because thestructure is already there, the financial return is much higher than build­ing a new one.
You are part of a new interdisciplinary modernization team –why was this team established and what are its duties?
We always strive to find the ideal solution for our customers. The best
way to do that is to combine the expertise that is spread across the re­gions into one team. This team gathers and organizes Voith’s vast
knowledge and wealth of experience, working together to develop andimplement best practices that will benefit our organization.
hypower N° 34

What are the particular challenges facing
modernization projects?
We’re dealing with complex projects here – on
the one hand, there are very different local regula­tory processes, and you have to understandthese and know what the consequences of theserequirements are for the customers. On theother hand, hydropower plants and dams are com­plex systems. Their maintenance and modern­ization require special knowledge and expertise.
This is Voith’s greatest strength. You always haveto decide and determine which components
need to be replaced and which can stay. This canoften only be decided after taking a close lookat the real-world conditions on site.
Why is Voith Hydro the right partner forthese projects?
Voith has special expertise in the fields of design,
engineering and construction. That is our major
strength, as it enables us to complete moderniza­tion projects safely, efficiently and on schedule.
And our mission doesn’t end there, because
we can also provide maintenance and service. Our
HyService helps customers ensure that the new
systems and components will operate efficiently
and perform reliably for many years to come.
What was the most exciting modernization
project you personally worked on?
One that comes to mind off the top of my head isfrom the beginning of my career in the UnitedStates. We were working on the modernization of
the Conowingo power plant in Chesapeake Bay.
During the project, a sudden short circuit caused
major damage to a machine unit that wasn’t
scheduled to be upgraded. We then had to movethat schedule forward, of course, to keep thepower plant running. Design, manufacturing, in­stallation – it all had to be completed on short no­tice to keep the power flowing. And we suc­ceeded – after only eight months, the customer
was able to bring the machine into operation.
A great teamwork with multiple operation units in­volved that shows how successful we can bewhen we join forces.
What are the future plans for the team?
We will increasingly support selected, complex
projects in all four corners of the globe. To thisend, we will expand our team to include important
key members in all areas of commercial, field
service and engineering. Training the next genera­tion of hydropower engineers is very important
for the future – we’ve a lot of work ahead of us and
I’m looking forward to passing on my knowledge
and experience.
reflect 41

They always saytime changes
things, but you
actually haveto change themyourself.”Andy Warhol

The flow simulation virtually displays,among other things, the turbulence of the backsplashing water.