Energy · 1849

Francis turbine

An inward-flow turbine that becomes the workhorse of hydroelectricity.

James B. Francis refined an inward-flow design at Lowell, Massachusetts, reaching over 90% efficiency. Francis turbines are still the most common hydro turbine, used at Three Gorges and Itaipu.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 1

Water turbine 1827

What it led to 1

Three Gorges Dam 2012

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

World electricity generation Latest: 31.8k TWh (2025) Source: Our World in Data

Share of electricity from low-carbon sources Latest: 42.6 % (2025) Source: Our World in Data