Project parameters
The alpine pumped-storage hydropower station
Set in the breathtaking alpine landscape of Tyrol, Austria, the Häusling pumped-storage hydropower station is a true marvel. Operated by Verbund Hydro Power GmbH, Austria’s largest electricity utility, the plant required a critical modernization of it’s core machinery.
Litostroj Power stepped up as the main contractor to deliver an upgrade that wouldn't just meet the client's expectations, but exceed them significantly.
A record-breaking hydropower plant
The Häusling power station is legendary in the hydropower, because it boasts a world primacy. The plant utilizes water flowing from the Zillergründl reservoir, creating a stunning net head of 728 meters. To put that extreme pressure into perspective, the water head is equivalent to two Eiffel Towers stacked on top of each other. To this day, it remains the world record holder with highest for a Francis turbine.
The challenge: pushing the limits of efficiency
When Verbund initiated the reconstruction of the two 233 MW turbines at Häusling, the primary objective was clear: increase the overall efficiency of the power station.
- The client's initial conditions required an efficiency increase of at least 0.5%.
- Litostroj significantly superseeded the tender requirements by a decent margin and secured also an order for delivery of 2 new Francis runners
Engineering a unique solution
To tackle the challenge, Litostroj's research and development teams (alongside engineers from the Czech subsidiary, Litostroj Engineering) took a highly creative approach for hydraulic development. Rather than replacing the entire turbine unit, the works focused purely on the runner of the turbine.
- The engineering team utilized advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods to develop a completely new hydraulic profile for the runners, optimizing them for the extreme 728-meter net head.
- A scaled model of the newly designed runner was built and subjected to rigorous physical testing in Litostroj's hydraulic laboratory to validate the digital simulations.
- The results were astonishing: the team proved to Verbund that their unique impeller design would increase the efficiency of the power station by more than 0,92%—effectively almost doubling the client's tender requirement.
Conclusion
With the successful manufacturing and delivery of the new Francis runners, the PSHPP Häusling project stands as a testament to the power of precision engineering. By applying modern CFD diagnostics and custom hydraulic profiles to an existing hydro power plant, Litostroj demonstrated, that even world-record-holding infrastructure can be pushed to new limits of operational excellence.
