Steel for hydropower

Hydropower plants use different types of engineering steels depending on their specific requirements, particularly for the construction of components such as turbines, generators, valves and pipes.

Wasserkraftwerk staudamm nachhaltigkeit

Requirements and applications

The engineering steels used in hydropower plants must generally have properties such as corrosion resistance, high mechanical strength and durability, as they are exposed to considerable loads due to the flow of water.

The most commonly used engineering steels for these components:

  • AISI 1045 (C45)
  • AISI 4140 (42CrMo4) 
  • AISI 4130 (25CrMo4 is more commonly used when weldability is required).

These are used for turbine shafts due to their high mechanical properties, which can support the loads caused by the rotation of the turbine blades, as well as for transmission components (pinions and drive shafts) and structural components.

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Swiss Steel Group for a sustainable future.

Our Green Steel is based on the circular economy, on energy sources with low CO2 content and is produced using the electric steel process.

  • ~85% lower CO2 footprint
  • ~83% electricity from low carbon sources
  • ~1.3 mn t recycled scrap per year

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