Aslan Renewables swaps costly US steel for fiberglass after tariff shock

Andrew Murray’s Aslan Renewables designs modular turbines intended to reanimate unused small-scale dams, providing local hydropower. The company faced a significant operational constraint when a U.S. counter-tariff hit the T-intake screen, an essential $80,000 steel component used in their filtration system.

Within two weeks, Aslan successfully redesigned the filter component using fiberglass. By sourcing this locally, they not only circumvented the tariff threat but also reduced overall system costs and claimed a more sustainable solution. Murray stated that the necessity of the pivot forced a deeper consideration of the technology's core design principles, moving them away from expensive imported materials.

The case demonstrates how external trade pressures can act as powerful catalysts for domestic innovation. For operators in the cleantech space, this suggests that material substitution and localized manufacturing planning should be treated not just as contingency measures, but as integral parts of initial system cost modeling.