Technology Group Voith has built a small hydropower plant on its factory premises in Heidenheim, Germany. A compact, environmentally friendly turbine-generator unit was installed in the river Brenz.

The innovative concept will not only generate electricity for the production facilities, but will also serve as a demonstration plant for customers, employees and the interested public. The plant is equipped with the StreamDiver, a new turbine-generator unit developed by Voith. It was designed specifically for river plants with low heads and is thus ideally suited for the Heidenheim location on the Brenz. In comparison with traditional turbines, the StreamDiver impresses as a compact, oil-free submersible turbine, allowing for a standardized and cost-efficient plant concept. As a result the necessary impacts on the environment during the installation phase were minimized.