ANDRITZ Hydro in Europe

The pioneering hydropower engineers and manufacturers largely originated from Central and Northern Europe and the technology soon spread around the globe, but only a few can boast of an engineering heritage stretching back to those earliest days of commercial hydropower.

ANDRITZ Hydro, part of the ANDRITZ GROUP, is one of those pioneers of hydropower and can justifiably and proudly boast of a continuous line of advancement, expertise and competence spanning over three centuries. Prominent names such as Escher Wyss, Sulzer, Elin, Bouvier, Ateliers de Charmilles, Atelier de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey, Kvaerner, Tampella, Nohab, and many more are now found rooted within the family tree of ANDRITZ Hydro, roots first planted in 1805.

With accurate knowledge of today’s hydropower markets, business and industry, a worldwide network, cutting-edge technology, and decades of expertise and experience from our first-class engineers, ANDRITZ Hydro establishes itself as a modern state-of-the-art company operating worldwide. Today, ANDRITZ Hydro is a global supplier of electro-, and hydro-mechanical equipment and services “from water-to-wire” for hydropower plants, turbo generators for thermal plants and large engineered pumps of all sizes. Of the 7,000 ANDRITZ Hydro employees worldwide, 3,800 work in our 29 locations in Europe. ANDRITZ Hydro European facilities include nine manufacturing workshops and five labs.

Always at the forefront of industrial and technological development, our expertise and innovative drive to evolve hydropower technology and the hydropower market has seen ANDRITZ Hydro make globally significant contributions. In 1936, Escher Wyss invented and built the first Bulb turbine – an invention destined for low head applications around the world. Escher Wyss was also the first to introduce the Straflo turbine, the name derived from a combination of "straight" and "flow". This is a further development of the Bulb turbine in which the turbine and generator form one unit. These were groundbreaking developments for the worldwide hydropower business. ANDRITZ Hydro has also patented the Hydromatrix, a unique device combining several identical small turbines built within existing civil structures with a few modest adaptions. This enables the use of existing and widespread infrastructure for power generation. Furthermore, ANDRITZ Hydro has also developed and installed the first commercial tidal current turbine, setting a marvelous example of our continued search for the next generation of future-oriented solutions.

“Europe is home to the world’s most important hydropower equipment manufacturers and another 50 key players in the supply chain, representing two thirds of the world market.”

With a wealth of new performance records and decades of delivering new, groundbreaking technological achievements, ANDRITZ Hydro is left with a dilemma: Which of the long and interesting list of important firsts and world records within its reference list should be showcased first? From the first unit at the world’s first commercial pumped storage plant, the first asynchronous variable speed units outside Japan, and the most powerful single-phase motor generators, on through to the most powerful Peltons with the highest heads – ANDRITZ Hydro’s proven provenance of quality, expertise and competence puts it on the top table as a leading supplier and the company’s global technological impact cannot be understated.

ANDRITZ Hydro is constantly investing in research and development in order to meet new demands for environmentally-friendly energy production and to provide top quality and modern solutions for our customers’ needs and requirements. The solutions and applications emerging from this R&D focus are not only optimized and tailor-made, but also environmentally-friendly. Examples include oil-free Kaplan runner hubs and fish-friendly manufacturing methods such as HiWeld, MicroGuss or SXH coatings, which were developed in our European manufacturing workshops.

As a leading global supplier with its roots in Europe, ANDRITZ Hydro has been meeting the needs of the market and those of our demanding customers for more than a century. From its earliest origins, to the present day and on into the future – ANDRITZ Hydro is making major contributions to the development of a safe, stable and sustainable energy system right across this new old continent.

Reference highlights = Milestones of technological progress

Niederwartha

Until 1950

1929	NIEDERWARTHA Germany, the first pumped storage plant in the world
1955–56	Jochenstein on the German-Austrian border the first run-of-river plant on the Danube

Goldisthal

Until 2000

1979	Edolo Italy, one of the world’s first multi-stage pumped turbine units (130 MW)
1997	Goldisthal Germany, the first asynchronous variable speed pumped storage unit (330 MVA) outside Japan

Reisseck

Since 2000

2004	Lower Olt Romania, the largest low-head Bulb-type pumped generating units (14.5 MVA) in the world
2004	Tsankov Kamak Bulgaria (80 MW), commissioning of the first joint implementation project under the Kyoto protocol
2008	Ashta I (24 MW) and II (45 MW), Albania, 90 modules for the world’s largest Hydromatrix power plant were put into operation
2009	Cleuson-Dixence Switzerland, which combines two world-records – the most powerful Pelton turbines (3 × 423 MW) and the highest head (1,833 m)
2012	Reisseck Group, Austria, the most powerful eight-pole generators with one of the highest heads (240 MVA, 1234 m)

Langenprozelten

2015	Langenprozelten Germany, has the world’s most powerful single-phasemotor generators (2 × 94 MVA)
2017	MeyGen Phase 1A, Scotland, UK, tidal stream turbines for the world’s largest tidal energy project commissioned
2019	La Coche France, the largest 10-pole generating unit in the world