A Hydropower Solution for Every Niche

By Kris Polly

InPipe Energy builds custom modular hydropower systems that take the excess pressure that already exists in municipal and industrial water systems and uses it to generate reliable, renewable energy. In our cover interview with CEO Gregg Semler, we discuss InPipe’s first deployment outside the United States: a HydroXS system in Thailand.

After that, we speak with Lamu Audu, the managing director and CEO of Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL), a Nigerian company that is one of Africa’s largest hydropower producers. He tells us how MESL restored and expanded its hydropower portfolio, discusses grid and transmission issues, and explains the role that hydropower and pumped storage will play in Africa’s energy future.

The hydropower company Cadens was formed when its founders noticed the lack of cost-effective options for creating custom-built small hydro systems. Today, it is working to integrate design tools and 3‑D printing to create a way to build turnkey modular hydro systems. As Randal Mueller, a cofounder of Cadens and the company’s business development lead, explains, the end goal is to add power to nonpowered dams, canals, and other structures, creating local energy sources.

Next, we learn about Aquatonomy, a company that is pioneering the development and use of autonomous underwater vehicles that can navigate murky, dark waters; orient themselves without GPS; and rapidly collect data on underwater structures and create 3‑D digital twins in real time. As Xiaoyu Kaess, the company’s cofounder and chief operating officer, and Zoe So, the company’s product manager, tell us, Aquatonomy’s technology can help improve hydropower inspection efficiency, reduce risk, and extend asset life.

Finally, we turn to PowerSpout, a New Zealand–based company that creates modular micro hydro systems so small, they can be shipped around the world and then transported—on an individual’s back, if necessary—to remote, off-grid locations that may lack any other sources of energy. We talk with Michael Lawley, a founder and director of the company, about its product lines and impressive installations around the globe.

The concept of creating energy from flowing and falling water is amazingly versatile. At one end of the spectrum, it can provide thousands of megawatts of steady power to undergird national grids. At the other, it can supply customized, smallscale solutions to generate power from otherwise untapped sources, such as industrial and municipal piping; old mills; canals; or natural waterways in remote, off-grid locations. As AI and additive manufacturing techniques advance, so does hydropower’s versatility.

Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Hydro Leader magazine and the president and CEO of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.