Energy to go: the world’s smallest hydropower plant | Eco-at-Africa

Sick of your phone running out of battery? Now you can use a mini water turbine to charge it up. With the invention already a success in India, the German engineer behind it now has his sights set on the African market.

[ElectroBOOM]

500 watts, enough to power a village? does the village run on a few lamps?

[manikkalore]

No need for mass production to bring down the price..just sell it once in China..

[jasonwilde]

Now you just need a portable source of flowing water to complete the kit!

[CZOV]

Housing

Designer: Aquakin
Form: Ergonomic Discus
Color: Graphite black
Lighting: tranlucent LED-Circle
Outer diameter: 22 cm
Inner diameter: 12 cm
Height: 6.5 cm
Connections

2x Speed Charger USB Port (1.5A) for charging external devices
Output 5 V
Micro USB Port for direct charging on Blue Freedom Portable
Aquakin Transmission Shaft connection with Turbine Blue M10
Turbine

Designer: Aquakin
Form: Hydrodynamic
Color: Ultramarine blue
Rotor blades: Blue M10R01
Diameter: 12 cm
Height: 6 cm
Generator

Capacity: 5 W
Operating mode: Synchron Generator
Output power: max. 5 W
Nominal voltage: 15 V
Battery

Capacity: 5000 mAh
Technology: Lithium Polymer
Design: Stick Hardcase
Voltage: 3.7 V
Dimensions

Diameter: 22 cm
Height: 5.5 cm
Weight: 690 g

[anthony]

the magic is; every time the stick comes loose, we make another sale >:-D

[cozmcwillie]

My Dad told me about an estate which had a ships turbine in the South Esk river that generated electricity for all the workers' cottages. In the 1930's.

[WillNGo]

This is the first new solution for hydro-power I've seen in years. No moving parts (meaning nothing under the water surface that if there's algae or barnacle growth the bearings will seize up.)
I can see using a larger one on a sail boat, or having a set of impellers. You could have different impeller sizes depending on the wind. The thing about sail boats is they have a fairly narrow speed range, so 10-11 knot winds you're going 5-6 knots, drag something in the water and lose a knot, At 12-14 knot winds you're still going 5-6 knots but dragging an impeller does nothing(except generate power.) At 18-20 knot winds, maybe you're going 7-8 knots, your sails are reefed and an even bigger impeller, generating more power, still doesn't slow you down. The way sailors do this now is with a folding prop - that doesn't spin as well as a non-folding (but minus 1-2 knot) propeller or they use a completely separate device that drops in and out of the water.
Most hydro-generation mechanisms look like they'd soon be fouled. They're big and expensive, I always see the project announced, sometimes the device place in the water....and then.... nothing.

[nickedmonds]

I'm from Africa. People would steal this from the riverbank along with the stick it's on in rural communities.

[suzannedemos]

My brother was an electrical engineer and he was a strong advocate for hydroelectric power. He took me to see the fish ladders
at some dam in Oregon. I never looked into hydro, but now I can see what he was talking about. It just has not caught on. Thanks for the video.

[cyfhvrc]

Генератор свободного потока. Это конструкция 1925-1935 годов, но она самая перспективная. Не нужно строить плотину. Большой респект вам!

[chesneyhawkes]

Wonder how many will drift away never to be seen again

[Raffix]

500 Watts? An entire village? That's about as much what my computer consumes when in full load....

[eastvalleycomputer]

Next time make a telescopic fishing pole with a battery in the handle. place handle between the rocks and your away.

[educatetube]

Based on the two lithium batteries (2500mAh x2 x 3.7v) in the turbine pad, we are looking at around 20 watt-hour system... for $340?! I think solar power might be better.

[ThomasSchick]

Brilliant idea!..Kind of similar to what private sea going sailing vessels use to generate power when sailing.

[Darkmatter]

For the price, I'd go solar. Not everyone has a river in thier backyard, but the sun's everywhere.

[richyleed]

Cool! Just make sure you don't drop your phone in the river while setting this up.

[TinShackVideos]

Works great in the Sahara desert as well.

[hgdolder]

With those dimensions you can expect around 10 W of power. I also wonder how long does the propeller last in a fast-flow stream which usually carry a lot of debris.

[gortnewton]

Water powered turbine generators are attached to every single dam in the world. This tech is old, old, old and well established. The only difference with this tech is it is small, but it is identical to all the water generators attached to dams everywhere. Anyway, you can build one yourself EASY, just get a DC motor (which will easily work as a generator too) and attach some blades within a tube to it and you have your own water generator.

Even a PC fan which has a tiny DC motor attached will do the job. Just stick the whole thing inside a tube to steer the water through the fan blades better - it is too easy.