Custom-made, site-specific water turbines
Cadens LLC utilizes cutting-edge 3D printing technology to create affordable, custom water turbines to generate hydroelectric power at locations around the country that are often overlooked due to size or cost constraints. The company, based in Milwaukee’s Global Water Center, targets smaller-capacity rivers and water sources to tap into largely unused sources of domestic and global renewable hydroelectric energy. Its site-specific water turbines will help create more sources of energy at an affordable cost, filling a significant gap in the market.
3D printing fills a gap in the market
Due to its innovative response to a growing need for renewable energy, the company was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Advance matching grant. A collaboration between the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and the UW-Extension Center for Technology Commercialization, SBIR Advance helps fill in the gaps from federal SBIR/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding, including staffing, patent filing and more, and also helps companies prepare for future federal SBIR/STTR funding.
In addition to its SBIR grant, Cadens was able to tap into many resources in Wisconsin, including participating in both The BREW (Business. Research. Entrepreneurship. In Wisconsin.) Accelerator and the Mid-west Energy Research Consortium’s WERCBench Labs. Both programs helped Cadens hone their business model to find greater success, as well as connecting them to research collaborators at UW-Milwaukee.
(September 2015)
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