Renewable Energy Solutions

FDE Hydro

The Future of Hydropower
in North America, Brazil and Europe

FDE Hydro is advancing civil water infrastructure industries in the United States and Canada by developing innovative technologies for the next-generation hydro electric dams, modular power house facilities, pump storage civil structures, reservoir and water control systems, retrofit of existing high hazard dams and modular aquatic animal passage systems.

FDE Hydro introduces modular precast concrete scalable technology means and methods for construction & ​retrofit of hydro and water control systems. FDE Hydro owns exclusive IP rights to all of North America regarding civil water infrastructure solutions.

The “French Dam” is a patented next generation Precast Modular Construction and Retrofit technology for building new and refurbishment of existing small and medium head hydro electric and water control dams.

​​FDE Hydro has patents in the United States and Canada.  Patents pending in Brazil and 40+ European Countries.

French Dam

One of the Top 10 Hydro Innovations & New Technologies

Use of modular precast elements to build hydropower facilities and dams can reduce the cost of this work by half, says FDE Hydro. The company says physical civil construction is the largest single component of new hydropower development cost, from 40% to 90% of total capital cost depending on the project size.

To address this situation, FDE Hydro has developed a technology, called the French Dam, that is based on modular components manufactured off-site in a controlled environment. These modules can be secured to the riverbed using underpinning and interconnected with adjacent modules to complete a dam. The French Dam is considered by civil engineers and hydro industry experts as a disruptive technology due to the fact that it changes the project financial dynamics and reduces major risk to all Stakeholders.

U.S. Department of Energy Success Story

Innovative “French Dam” Cuts Cost and Construction Time

With Energy Department support, FDE Hydro, GEI Consultants, and Oldcastle Precast announced the successful construction of the first prototype of a “French Dam.” The prototype technology uses modular design—a term for structures that use multiple standardized components that integrate easily— to significantly cut construction time and cost.