Electropolis Mulhouse
Our today’s excursion leads us to the French city of Mulhouse. The city offers several museums and exhibitions (not suprisingly called ‘city of museums’). For us the most attractive one is obviously the EDF museum Electropolis.
In spring 2022, two years after the start of the global pandemic, European countries are gradually lifting the restrictions. Freedom is in the air. Can you smell it?
If you have missed travelling, visiting museums and exhibitions now is the perfect time for resuming it. If you read this blog it is likely that you are interested in variable frequency drives, electric motors etc. Therefore we can warmly recommend the visit of EDF Electropolis museum in Mulhouse. You will most likely love it.
If you ever watched any French documentary film then you know that they have a special talent how to convey the message. Same is with the museums. They are anything else than boring. Therefore I had high expectations before visiting EDF Electropolis. And those expectations were entirely met or even exceeded.
There is a lot to see here. We just had one night in Mulhouse before continuing to Colmar and Strasbourg but if I had more time I would spend whole day in Electropolis. You can find few expositions outdoors and huge collections indoors. From static objects like in a classical museum to interactive objects and systems to models that you can experiment with up to a cinema showing the Sulzer steam engine and Brown-Boveri generator (“Grande Machine”).
According to some sources, EDF Electropolis is the most important museum of electric power in Europe [2].
Brown-Boveri (BBC) generator
Highlight of Electropolis is a Brown Boveri DC generator together with Sulzer steam machine. The machine set was brought to Electropolis in 1978 when it was brought from Mulhouse’s DMC mill. The abbreviation DMC stands for Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie which is an Alsatian textile company founded in the year 1746. In the twentieth century the DMC company emerged to one of the largest European textile and industrial groups. During the golden era in 1960s the company was employing up to 30’000 workers. Unfortunately, due to high energy cost in Europe and increasing cheap competition from Asia the company started to struggle in 1980s and the number of employees was gradually decreasing. Luckily, the restructuring of the company was managed and it is still processing its finest cotton in Mulhouse.
The Sulzer-BBC machine set was supplying the DMC plant in Mulhouse with electricity for over 50 years. Manufactured in 1901, the machine set was serving in DMC Mulhouse until 1953. Sulzer steam engine was used as mechanical driver of the BBC generator.
Later on, steam engines were gradually replaced by steam turbines as those were less bulky and could provide significantly higher output power. However, due to the unique design and high reliability of the Sulzer engine, the machine set remained in operation until 1953. Afterwards, the machine set was decommissioned and was stored until 1978 when it became a new purpose as a highlight of the Electropolis museum.
It shall be noted that the damages on the machines caused by more than 30 years of ‘standstill’ were significant. It took several thousand man-hours and lot of passion to bring the machines to a state when they could be operated again. Only thanks to the dedicated work of few enthusiasts we can admire the technical heritage of those Sulzer-BBC machines in these days.
The machine set is clearly a highlight of Electropolis. Sulzer-BBC machines are installed on a stage in kind of cinema ready to present a multi-media show. You will hear a story of technicians that used to work in the DMC plant servicing the machines.
Technical data of Sulzer-BBC machine
The Sulzer steam engine features four pistons in corresponding cylinders (one high-pressure, one medium-pressure and two low-pressure cylinders).
BBC alternator consists of 72 poles. The large diameter of the rotor inherently acts as a flywheel and therefore minimizes the effect of fluctuating torque on the generator’s speed and electric frequency. The machine has impressive weight of 190 tonnes. Rated output power is 900 kW electric at a voltage of 400 V. Interestingly, the output frequency was originally 45 Hz and was later increased to 50 Hz.
Educational role of Electropolis
Regardless if you work in the field of electric power engineering or not it is worth to visit Electropolis. Finally, the electricity is all around us and we can’t imagine our modern society without it anymore. And if you work in this area or study electrical engineering then I encourage you to visit this museum. The best lectures, videos or animations do not replace the experience seeing the real equipment. Not everyone will have the privilege to work as a field service engineer or a test lab engineer interacting with the electric equipment on daily base. Many of you will just work with datasheets, drawings etc. The more important it is to get your own experience – at least once. Electropolis enables that for each of you.
In 1996, Electropolis won the title Museum of France demonstrating its high quality.
My rating of Electropolis
I can totally recommend this museum. It presents the adventurous journey of electricity from the beginnings until these days in highly engaging and interactive way. L’excellence française. A great family trip as well – your kids will love it, too. Just reserve sufficient time for your visit. Half a day is the minimum duration in my opinion if you don’t want to skip anything. There are mutiple halls and also outdoor expositions. Based on my experience the museum is very interesting also for people not having deeper education in the field of electrical engineering.
The Sulzer-BBC machines make Electropolis famous. However, there are man other machines, both small and large, to admire and explore.
I will certainly come back to Electropolis again – maybe already this year 🙂
As of 2022, the entrance price for an adult is 10 €. That is a very affordable price level and absolutely worth the experience you will gain. You can also purchase a combined ticket with the railway museum.
So, don’t hesitate anymore and start booking your trip to Mulhouse and specifically to EDF Electropolis.
References
[1] Electropolis – official website, http://musee-electropolis.fr
[2] European Route of Industrial Heritage, https://www.erih.net/i-want-to-go-there/site/edf-electropolis/
[3] Electropolis Electricity Museum, https://musees-mulhouse.fr/en/museums/electropolis-electricity-museum/
[4] Power, speed and torque, https://mb-drive-services.com/power-speed-and-torque/
