When we think of the World Cup, our minds immediately project images of star players elite-performing on the pitch, passionate fans chanting in unison, and monumental stadiums lit up on the night of the big match.

In May 2026, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in partnership with Cadens — a startup based in Rome, Wisconsin — published a success story that made headlines worldwide: large-scale hydraulic turbines manufactured with 3D printing, capable of unlocking up to 29 GW of dormant hydroelectric power stored across approximately 90,000 American dams that currently generate not a single watt of electricity.