Transporter l'énergie hydraulique à distance, avant l'électricité(1830-1890)

Transporting hydraulic energy in the pre-electric era (1830-1890)

Association APHID - Association pour le Patrimoine et l'Histoire de l'Industrie en Dauphiné, Grenoble

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Abstract

The invention of the hydraulic turbine (1827) provided industrialists with abundant and economical energy, but one which could only be exploited at the bottom of a waterfall. For 60 years, all the possible means of transporting this energy at a greater distance were invented, with varying degrees of success. Examples of installation facilities describe the three systems most often used during this period : mechanical transport through cables in Bellegarde sur Rhône - pneumatic means using compressed air for the first trans-Alpine tunnel in Mont Cenis - hydraulic means using pressurized water in Geneva. After a decade of continuous attempts (1881-1891), the discovery of electricity resolved this major problem.