Full Title: Advanced Manufacturing and Materials for Hydropower Strategy
Author(s): U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office
Publisher(s): U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office
Publication Date: February 21, 2024
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Advanced manufacturing and materials (AMM) have shown immense potential to boost the U.S. manufacturing industry, increase American competitiveness, restore manufacturing capabilities, and revolutionize the energy sector. However, the hydropower industry still heavily relies on traditional manufacturing methods and materials, and the potential benefits of AMM applications to hydropower development remain largely unexplored. The U.S. Department of Energy is committed to supporting the sustainable growth of both existing and future U.S. hydropower and recognizes AMM as a key opportunity to achieve its mission. The purpose of this strategy is to establish stakeholder-informed, high priority goals within WPTO’s mission that it can target with future research and development (R&D) investments. Several stakeholder engagements and a quantitative analysis informed this strategy.
This report characterized the current and emerging manufacturing challenges facing the hydropower industry in the United States and identified numerous opportunities for advancing AMM for hydropower. The opportunities were categorized into three overarching goals:
1) Improve the operational reliability of existing hydropower by minimizing maintenance duration, frequency, and cost;
2) Expand the design space for hydropower innovations by improving component efficiency, flexibility, and cost;
3) And enable the adoption of hydropower technologies.