The Hydra is a collapsible micro wind turbine designed to provide power to polar and alpine adventurers.
As beautiful as the mountains of New Zealand may seem, they are also one of the deadliest environments in the country. Every year, people travel into the mountains looking for adventure and realise that they are not prepared for the hostility of the environment. Inevitably, some lose their lives, often due to silly mistakes made. One of the leading contributors to making these mistakes is dehydration.
The Hydra wind turbine, combined with the Hydra snow hopper, creates a snow-melting system that is designed to provide adventurers with a consistent supply of water. The collapsible wind turbine, laid out on a vertical axis, has the potential to create outputs of up to 80 watts of electricity. The turbine needs to be ultra strong to be able to handle the intense wind speeds often found in polar environments, and lightweight at the same time. To enable these requirements, the Hydra turbine is constructed from strong and lightweight materials such as titanium, stainless steel and carbon reinforced nylon. To erect the Hydra, the user simply screws it into the ground, which not only provides a stable platform but also extends the flexible blades.
The snow-melting hopper is designed with telescoping legs to fit over any standard drink bottle. The fabric bucket holds up to 10 litres of snow, which is then fed over the heating element as it slides down the bucket. Producing up to 750ml of drinking water per hour, the Hydra system greatly reduces dependence on fossil and liquid fuel burners, which are currently used for this task. Reducing fuel consumption means that adventurers can choose to travel lighter and longer than they have ever before.
Designer: Brad Knewstubb
