Dams

The French Dam

FDE Hydro™ has developed a technology, called The French Dam, which is considered by civil engineers and hydro industry experts as a disruptive technology since it changes the project financial dynamics, reducing major risk to all Stakeholders and gives the development team a much faster ROI.

French Dam technology is predicated on manufacturing modular segments off-site in a controlled environment and delivering and installing them on-site with a reduced impact on the environment. The segments are interconnected and secured to the river bed using rock bolting and underpinning solutions. The lighter, more robust modular dam provides several benefits compared to the traditional gravity or RCC dams.

The French Dam is considered by the U.S. Department of Energy Water Department Research Group and Oak Ridge National Labs as the next generation in water power civil infrastructure. It changes the financial dynamics of the hydro industry to the point where it surpasses wind and solar in efficiently and cost. The French Dam is truly a disruptive technology.

Market Challenge — Civil costs comprise the highest portion of total costs in new dam construction (66% of the total costs for large project and up to 90% of the costs for small and medium size projects). Current construction methods significantly reduce the dams’ financial and economic feasibility. French Dam technology addresses both the technical and financial aspects to this problem.