The European Commission has awarded a grant of €1 million to Catalonia-based company Tecnoturbines to support the development of a new hydro turbine.
The capital grant was awarded under the Horizon 2020 programme, a European initiative designed to promote technology innovation and sustainability.
Tecnoturbines and its consortium partner, Madrid-based engineering firm Sendekia, are aiming to develop a new turbine that will be able to generate up to 35 per cent more electrical energy than equivalent-sized traditional turbines. The firms’ project will have a total budget of €1.5 million thanks to the Horizon 2020 grant, they said.
"Our proposal involves developing a turbine that produces electricity in variable hydraulic conditions in terms of flow and pressure, which is a very common scenario due to the seasonal nature of the water resources available," said Jaime Lledó, founder of Tecnoturbines.