Canada-based Thordon Bearings has won a PLN-1.3-million (USD 330,000) grant from a Polish agency to develop a series of completely pollution-free micro hydro turbines.
Poland’s National Centre of Research and Development (NCBiR) has approved the above mentioned funding for this project, whose total cost is estimated at PLN 1.8 million. As part of it, Thordon Bearings’ Polish manufacturing plant T-G DNALOP will seek to design, manufacture and market a low-noise, pollution-free, double-regulated Kaplan-type turbine based on Permanent Magnet (PM) technology. The plan is to develop several units that range in size from 5 kW to 100 kW.
The project will be a collaboration with the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Thordon Bearings hopes to have the first test hydro turbine installed and commissioned at the 67-kW Struzyska hydropower plant (HPP) near Pila in December 2020. TG-DNALOP acquired the particular facility in March 2019.
“Our initial focus is on the design and successful testing of the first prototype, after which we will establish a sales and marketing network across the areas in which we look to position the new turbine,” commented Greg Auger, Thordon Bearings’ Hydro & Clean Power Business Unit Manager.