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Voith Hydro’s Expertise on Pumped Storage Projects
The upper and lower reservoirs of the Kaprun Upper Stage and Limberg II pumped storage power stations in Austria.
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he Voith Group is a Germany-based multinational corporation with more than 19,000 employees worldwide. One of its primary divisions is Voith Hydro, a complete system supplier that produces turbines and generators for the world’s largest hydropower stations. Voith Hydro’s expertise also extends to pumped storage hydroelectric projects. In this interview, we speak with Dr. Klaus Krüger, Voith Hydro’s senior expert in plant safety and energy storage solutions, about his research and the key factors to keep in mind when planning a pumped storage facility. Hydro Leader: Please tell our readers about your background, education, and work experience with Voith.
28 | HYDRO LEADER | September 2020
Hydro Leader: Would you describe your comparative research on battery storage versus pumped storage for bulk energy storage? Klaus Krüger: The research work compares the marginal costs resulting from the specific raw material costs of a representative stationary lithium-ion battery storage facility and a pumped storage scheme, each with a bulk energy capacity of 13.4 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and a lifetime of 100 years. It is evident that the two systems need completely different types and quantities of resources, leading to substantial differences in their specific raw material costs. In addition to the raw material costs, we examined the annual lifetime investment costs and land requirements for each technology. Finally, we analyzed the different contributions to the overall carbon footprint. This research work hydroleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF VOITH.
Klaus Krüger: I studied electrical engineering at the Technical University of Karlsruhe in Germany and graduated in 1987 and then earned a PhD at the same university in 1991. By 1992, I was employed with ABB’s thermal power plant automation division in Mannheim, Germany, gaining professional experience in national and international power plant automation and optimization projects and in different management positions. In 2004, I joined Voith Hydro Holding in Heidenheim, Germany. From 2004 until 2016, I was the head of research and
development at Voith’s Corporate Technology Center. From 2016 onward, I was responsible for product and plant safety, innovation management, and trend scouting. Since 2017, I have been a member of the executive board of the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) in Brussels. My current position at Voith Hydro, which I have held since 2019, is senior expert in plant safety and energy storage.
