As you skim a stone across the river, think of the untapped power in the River.

Exploiting an untapped natural resource

Hydro Power Pods patent-pending technology

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Many waterways remain significantly underutilized for the generation of clean, renewable energy. Against a backdrop of escalating energy prices and the disproportionately high energy bills faced by remote UK regions, there exists an untapped potential beyond the current 1.7% contribution from existing large hydrostatic-head schemes.

In response, HydroPowerPods is pioneering an innovative solution designed to fully harness the power of waterways with low hydrostatic heads (under 2.5 m) for electricity generation. The company’s groundbreaking technology is poised to elevate the efficiency of low-head hydroelectric generation by an impressive 175% (2.75 times), vastly expanding the range of viable sites for low-head hydroelectric power.

Importantly, this development is engineered to harmonize with the natural environment, ensuring the preservation of factors like fish migration, while simultaneously enhancing waterway ecology through increased water aeration.

HydroPowerPods envisions its solution as a means to decentralize electricity production, playing a pivotal role in lifting the poorest and most remote households out of energy poverty.

By ensuring access to a low-cost and reliable power supply, the company aims to contribute to sustainable and equitable development

Opportunity to invest

We are currently seeking investment from selected high net worth individuals under the EIS investment scheme. Register your interest to receive an 

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This video showcases our current modeling. We will extract data from testing and use it to update the model in Ansys. Additionally, we will utilize this updated data as the base data for the Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulation. SPH is a computational method used for simulating the mechanics of continuum media, including solid mechanics and fluid flows. As mentioned in June, we have received a substantial grant to support this project.

To conduct testing, we have decided to construct our own flume. We purchased a secondhand large acrylic fish tank that measures 1.8 meters long, 600 millimeters wide, and 700 millimeters deep. It will be attached to a tank on either side, using three circulating pumps to achieve a flow rate of 53,000 liters per hour. We anticipate that this setup will be completed by the first week of July.

Receiving parts from various manufacturers in mid-June. We receive all components in June and put the new prototype together in early July.

Hydro Power Pods has been successful in securing a government grant under the Scientific Technology Facilities Council, United Kingdom Research and

Innovation, Industry Impact Fund (quite a mouthful – abbreviated as STFC/UKRI I2F!). This isn’t a direct injection of cash but means that the £105k computer modelling work that we are due to commence in September will now be done in collaboration with STFC/UKRI, who will fund over £80k of the work. This is big win for us – not only do they have the very best computing facilities at their disposal but they are also very clever people who we are confident will add to the excellence of our design prior to us building our pre-production prototype early next year.

We went to meet with Kevin Jefferson, Mariusz Grelewicz and Jeovan De Freitas at Amiblu the world’s leading GRP pipe manufacturer, in Gdańsk, Poland. Kevin is going to personally introduce us to the senior team at Scottish Water where he believes there will be real interest in using our product for the tailrace of existing hydro plants and in the waist water discharge from various treatment plants.
We are looking to work with Amiblu as our chosen manufacturer of all GRP parts of the design.

We have had several discussions with the University of Plymouth, and we are finalizing the details. It is proposed that in return for using their research facilities, we will allow them to base a PhD course on our Patent Pending technology and collaborate over the next two years, starting in September.

This partnership will help us further develop our design iteration, save us considerable costs in testing, and looks like a really good commercial-academic partnership.

 

Received videos from suppliers

We expect to receive the finished prototype parts in mid-June.

We had the main body 3D printed in transparent plastic is SLA Accura ClearVue, Clear finish.

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We have developed an interactive GIS system. This multi-layer GIS mapping system utilizes data such as:

1. River flow data
2. Population data
3. Regulation data
4. Aquatic life data

We use this data to identify the most viable and profitable sites for our innovation.

Even though Nigeria has the highest population in Africa with approximately 230 million people, 43% of the population does not have access to the main electrical grid. It has been estimated that up to 60 million petrol and diesel generators owned by private households and businesses are spending $14 billion on fuel (African Development Bank).

We are currently in the process of replicating what we have accomplished for Nigeria in the 20 initial target countries.

We’ve started creating a contacts database for sales prospecting. It’s sorted by sector and country contacts and will be ready for market launch.

In the initial phase, we’ve decided to use the free HubSpot CRM system, and this may be changed or improved as the company expands.

 

For the core structure of our hydro power pod, we’ve chosen Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) also called fibreglass, composite plastic or FRP over traditional materials like concrete. This innovative material offers several key advantages that make our pods efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly solutions.

  • Lightweight and Transportable: GRP is significantly lighter than concrete, making transportation and installation of our hydro pods a breeze. This translates to lower deployment costs and faster project timelines, getting your clean energy generation up and running quickly.
  • Durable and Long-Lasting: GRP is a composite material known for its strength and resistance to corrosion. Unlike concrete, which can degrade over time, our GRP pods boast a long lifespan, minimizing future maintenance needs and maximizing your return on investment.
  • Sustainable Choice: Manufacturing GRP uses less energy compared to concrete production. Additionally, the lightweight nature of GRP pods reduces transportation emissions during installation. This focus on sustainability aligns with our commitment to providing clean energy solutions.

By choosing GRP, we ensure our hydro power pods are not only efficient in energy generation but also efficient throughout their lifecycle, from deployment to operation.

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We added an impeller and a small generator and repeated the experiment.

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Richard is a skilled European and United Kingdom Chartered Patent Attorney. He holds a degree in Physics and has 20 years of experience in the patents field. He obtained his degree from Oxford University, where he specialized in renewable energy generation.

We selected Handsome IP as our expert partner in this field. Since they are based in Bath and not London, their charging structure was more reasonable than some of the London firms. We began collaborating with Handsome I.P. for the preparation of the patent application, and we plan to continue working with them throughout the patent application process.

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Chartered Fluid Mechanics PhD Engineer

Artem is a Chartered Mechanical Ph.D. engineer with 8 years of experience in various fields of industry, dealing with turbomachinery fluid mechanics, CFD, CAD, technical software development. He is fluent in English, French, Russian, and German. He has authored five utility patents and two scientific publications.

Artem, with his extensive experience in major European hydropower and designs and manufacturing firms like Dyson, conducted computational fluid dynamic calculations after signing a nondisclosure agreement. His analysis confirmed the concept’s viability, leading him to endorse patent pursuit due to its groundbreaking nature.