Alstom has officially inaugurated its first hydropower global technology center (GTC) in Latin America in Taubaté, São Paulo State.
The center is an extension of the existing hydropower industrial site at Taubaté, which is one of the largest in the world with almost 2.000 employees. The GTC itself represents an investment of €8 million, with 15 dedicated employees.
The new technology center reinforces a global network of centres based in Grenoble (France), Birr (Switzerland), Baroda (India), Sorel-Tracy (Canada) and Tianjin (China); and will contribute to the development of technological solutions for projects all over the world, meeting the specific needs of Latin America in particular.
The center includes a state-of-the-art test rig for turbine scale models and will benefit from ipartnerships with Brazilian engineering companies, institutes, and universities, such as Unifei (Federal University of Itajubá), ITA (Aeronautics Technological Institute) and Unesp (State University of São Paulo) for future funding of doctor’s and master’s degrees related to the hydro market.
“The inauguration of the Brazilian GTC represents a key milestone for Alstom’s development in the country and in the renewable market," said Jacques Hardelay, Alstom’s Global Hydro Chief Operating Officer. "It will allow us to benefit from a feedback of experience of highly skilled R&D experts and engineers located close to our customers and to continually improve the products we design."
