The flow stays. The force is used.
Energy from flowing water without braking the flow head-on
Do you have to dam and brake a river to take energy from it?
Classic hydropower puts a surface in the way of the flow. The tube-body turbine — based on utility model DE 20 2017 004 975 U1 — works differently: water runs through a spiral tube body with low internal friction and is continuously deflected sideways inside it. The resulting reaction force sets the tube body turning.
The idea
- 01A spiral tube body with low internal friction guides the water.
- 02The water is continuously deflected sideways along the spiral.
- 03The reaction force of that deflection transfers torque to the tube body.
- 04The rotor is attached to the tube body; the stator can remain on a fixed axis.
- 05Gearing is optional, depending on flow speed and generator.
How it works
- Horizontal river version: a floating single-point mounting that self-aligns with the flow, or fixed anchoring.
- Vertical version at weirs and low head drops: this additionally uses the gravitational potential energy of the drop.
- Modular extension: several bodies can be combined into clusters.
- The arrangement needs no impoundment and no rotor disc set across the flow.
What is different about it
- Using deflection forces instead of braking the flow head-on.
- No damming required: rivers can stay as they are.
- Floating, self-aligning mounting as an alternative to heavy civil works.
- Two build forms from one principle: horizontal in rivers, vertical at weirs.
- Environmental benefits are design aims of the principle until they are measured.
What we already have
- Utility model DE 20 2017 004 975 U1.
- A larger prototype has been tested and measured in the river Elbe.
What we still want to prove
- Model calculations for an assumed inflow area of 2 m × 1 m at 2 m/s give roughly 20–28 kW. These are calculated values, not measurements from the Elbe.
- Controlled power measurements with documented flow conditions.
- Optimisation of the spiral geometry and internal friction.
- Scaling and site validation for both the horizontal and the vertical version.
Where it could matter
- Rivers and canals without impoundment
- Weirs and low head drops
- Off-grid supply along waterways
- Existing hydraulic structures without major rebuilding
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