Alstom researchers seek longer-lasting, better hydropower

Alstom’s new Global Technology Center (GTC) in Canada will focus on innovative ways to retrofit hydroelectric plants to help them last longer, become more efficient and generate more electricity.

Inaugurated this week, the center is located at Alstom’s North American hydro headquarters in the Quebec town of Sorel-Tracy. It’s designed to serve as the company’s global hub for innovation in hydro retrofit processes and technology.

“Many Alstom customers in North America and Europe own hydro facilities that have been operating continuously for 30 years or more, such as some of those in the territory of James Bay,” said Maryse François-Xausa, Alstom’s vice president for Global Hydro R&D and Product Management. “These plants are a source of clean, reliable energy, but many need to be retrofitted and are opportunities for increases in efficiency/capacity. This new GTC is here to ensure those plants continue operating smoothly while making the largest possible contribution to a balanced portfolio of low and no-carbon energy sources.”

The Sorel-Tracy GTC houses a team of Alstom research experts and engineers working with industry and academic partners to study improvements in retrofit techniques that can significantly improve plant performance, availability and reliability without increasing overall plant size or environmental impact. During a retrofit, existing turbines, generators and other essential equipment are removed from a hydro plant. They are then renewed to boost efficiency or replaced with new designs resulting in an overall increase in electricity output.

In the world of hydroelectric technologies, Alstom certainly qualifies as a superpower, with its turbines, generators and equipment accounting for around 25 percent of the world’s hydropower output. The company also operates several other hydro-focused GTCs, including a high-tech, scale-model test laboratory in Grenoble, France; the Pelton turbine-testing centre in Vadodara, India; and a generator-focused GTC in Birr, Switzerland.