Cadens and ORNL use additive manufacturing to cut hydropower component costs with a 3D printed turbine prototype running for over six years

Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility has partnered with Cadens, a Rome, Wisconsin-based startup, to apply additive manufacturing to low-head hydropower components. The collaboration produced a Fixed-Kaplan S-turbine prototype using big area additive manufacturing (BAAM) and a 3D Platform Workbench 400 Series System, with key parts printed in 20% carbon-fiber reinforced ABS polymer. The draft tube was printed in two halves and sealed into a 688-pound unit, while the runner housing was created via a 3D printed mold and cast in fiberglass with CNC machining. The prototype has operated continuously at Cadens' test facility for over six years, generating data that supports turbine design and energy conversion research, with ORNL reporting a cost reduction of up to 40% per kilowatt versus traditional manufacturing.

This partnership fits the industrial-tooling and energy verticals, specifically addressing the economic barrier that prevents development of micro hydropower at 51,000 US dam sites with untapped 29 GW capacity. The approach demonstrates a recurring pattern where additive manufacturing solves a site-specific customization problem by balancing standardization — using a large PVC pipe as the primary waterway — with 3D printed polymer components matched to its dimensions. This is not a high-volume production story but a targeted application of polymer AM (material extrusion) to reduce per-unit costs for small-scale, custom hydropower systems, a segment where traditional manufacturing drives prohibitive costs. The six-year continuous operation provides real-world validation that polymer AM components can survive long-term in energy infrastructure, a critical data point for the energy sector's cautious adoption of AM.

The practical takeaway is that Cadens has turned a testbed into a platform for ongoing material and component testing, simulation, and energy storage research, effectively de-risking the technology for broader industry use. The next step is scaling this approach from a single prototype to a repeatable design-to-manufacturing workflow that can be deployed across multiple dam sites without requiring custom engineering each time. For buyers in the energy sector, the 40% cost reduction per kilowatt is a concrete number to evaluate against their own site economics, but the qualification path for polymer components in continuous-duty hydropower remains the real barrier to adoption beyond this single installation.