Invitation

You are warmly invited to the HYLOW workshop held at the University of Southampton. This workshop is aimed at disseminating the work developed during the HYLOW project, funded by the European Commission, to a wider audience.

Three new technologies

Hydrostatic Pressure Machine: is a novel hydropower converter for head differences between 1 and 2.5 m, flow volumes from 1 to 10 m³/s with power ratings from 5 to 200 kW. The machine employs a new power conversion mechanism, using hydrostatic pressure, and is therefore a simple machine which is expected to be cost effective. The river bed is continuous, so that sediment passage is possible. The large cells imply that smaller fish may pass undamaged. 

Free Stream Energy Converter: the energy of free streams has fascinated man for a long time, and floating mills were employed widely in Europe until the middle of the 19th Century. The kinetic energy of the currents in natural rivers is however very limited, and the conversion efficiencies of the old floating mills were low. The machine is a floating water wheel housed between two pontoons which are connected with a bottom plate. The specific hydrodynamic shape means that it has a significantly higher conversion efficiency than classic water mills.

Volumetric spin turbines: these micro-turbines were developed for application in pipe systems with low and medium pressures, and high volume flows where often the need arises to reduce pressure. The specific shape allows it to generate electricity from these pressure drops, where the energy was previously wasted. This is of particular importance since it allows for the generation of electricity in remote locations.