Site Visit: Voith Hydro. Voith Hydro is a joint venture between Voith and Siemens created to provide turbines and generators for hydropower. It is responsible for generating more than 50% of hydropower consumed in Brazil. Voith provides full-line service in the field of hydropower. Its range of solutions includes large hydropower plants, pumped storage power plants, small hydropower plants, automation systems and innovative technology for utilizing the energy of the oceans, the modernization of power plants, as well as full life cycle service.

Impressions about the Voith site visit from group participants:

Bethany Kanten (Harvard SEAS): The amount of precision in the design of each project was amazing to hear about, and how each project is made specifically for the customer.

Jason Smith (Harvard SEAS):  The size and scale of each of the projects make seemingly simple operations true feats of engineering.

Jessica Wu (Harvard SEAS):  Giant lathes!  Contour mills!  Now I have a few more items to put on my Christmas list for next year.

Junling Huang (Harvard SEAS): The practice of engineering design is pretty amazing. Those super large-scale hydro turbines are breathtaking.

Kirsten Van Fossen (Harvard SEAS):  At an international company like Voith, there is so much more that goes into every project than you would imagine.  I would have never thought about transporting the finished products, but in their business, this is a major task.

Ligia Monteiro da Silva (Poli-USP): After doing an undergraduate research about hydropower production, it was really interesting to finally see how the equipment used in the plants is made.

Luciana Mascarenhas (Poli-USP): It was amazing to see the Jirau powerplant model at FCTH and its turbines being built at Voith!

Raphael Rodrigues (Poli-USP): It was interesting seeing the place where the energy that comes to our homes start. After all, it all starts with the design and project of those parts.

Stephen Lee (Harvard SEAS):  After the hydro power lecture and turbine visit, it was good to see how they are fabricated.

Bethany Kanten (Harvard SEAS): The amount of precision in the design of each project was amazing to hear about, and how each project is made specifically for the customer.