Design of a Low-head Shaft Driven Contra-rotating Reversible Pump Turbine for Pumped Hydro Storage Application

Design of a Low-head Shaft Driven Contra-rotating Reversible Pump Turbine for Pumped Hydro Storage Application

The widespread use of solar and wind power for reducing greenhouse gas emissions presents a need for green technologies to stabilize the grid due to their intermittent nature. Pumped hydro storage (PHS) systems offer a reliable solution, particularly for flat geographies where traditional hydro power installations are not feasible.

The ALPHEUS project, funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 program, is developing a low head seawater PHS system to enhance grid stability. The project involves the design of a shaft-driven contra-rotating reversible pump turbine, utilizing advanced 3D blade design and computational fluid dynamic analysis to assess performance.

A model scale optimization using a Design of Experiments approach will maximize performance, followed by a laboratory test to validate the design's effectiveness.