Team
About us
Open source team since 2018
Today’s team
Markus Heinsdorff
Idea, concept & design
Markus Heinsdorff, born in 1954, studied sculpture in Munich. Nature and space are the central themes of his work, which also incorporates architecture and photography. He has initiated and designed projects, installations and exhibitions in China, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Indonesia (Java and Bali), Vietnam, the USA, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and numerous European countries – usually developed for the venue with materials from its surroundings. In 2015 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande).
Selected references: 21 pavilions as object buildings for Germany’s presentation in China (2007–2009) and the German-Chinese House at EXPO Shanghai 2010 · 16 pavilions as art structures for the German Federal Foreign Office in India (2011–2013) · visiting professorships at universities in China, including Chongqing, Southeast University Nanjing and the DeTao Academy Shanghai · experimental space laboratory with the Faculty of Architecture at TUM (2017) · founder of the Academy of Art + Architecture for Climate, Environment and Social Issues in Burghausen. His work has been supported by the Siemens Arts Programme, the Siemens “Empowering People Award”, the UNESCO-Aschberg Bursary and the Goethe-Institut.
The Rotor grew out of his art and science collaboration wasser-werke – he contributed the idea, concept and design.
Andreas Zeiselmair
Technical development & open source
Andreas Zeiselmair studied geography and environmental engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), specializing in renewable energies and hydraulics. Today he teaches and researches the digital energy transition at Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences (HSWT).
As a research associate at the TUM Hydromechanics Laboratory he led hydropower projects in Cameroon and Ecuador and worked with Markus Heinsdorff on the art and science project wasser-werke – the starting point of the Rotor. He co-founded mobile hydro and led the initiative as project leader: he was responsible for the technical layout, design and development of the Rotor, built up the student team, organized the prototype tests in the TUM flume, the Eisbach and on Lake Starnberg, coordinated the planning of pilot installations (e.g. in Colombia) and presented the project at the empowering people workshop and the Falling Walls Lab in Berlin, among others.
After the joint decision in 2018 he prepared the construction files for open source publication and continues to make them available. Since 2025 he has continued the collaboration with Markus Heinsdorff in Designing Energy.
Start-up phase 2013–2017
Former team and supporters
Core team
Johannes Deckert
Technical development
Christoph Helf
Strategic development and implementation
Matthias Menzinger
Web and mechanical development
Philipp Schaltenberg
Business development
Igor Fickel
Project completion, web & open source implementation
Benoit Durillon
Pilot project Bangladesh (Association Watever)
Mechanical & electrical
Hasan Güven Kaya
Technical development and test series
Christoph Haslinger
Construction and manufacturing
Erik Petersen
Hydromechanics
Andreas Drexler
E-Box – development and production
Melanie Manersberger
Analysis of a DC machine as generator
Renan Schwinden
Test and implementation
Business, design & research
Léonie Rivière
Business development and marketing
Marlies Ehring, Thies Hofmann, Luise Hogrefe, Dominik Knoblic
Opportunity assessment plan
Markus Sick
Industrial design and construction
Hannes Seehauser
Low-cost water resources concept for distributed applications
Sebastian Braun, Katharina Kurz, Daniel Pourroy, Tina Weikard
Product and production analysis
Sarah Godoj, Tristam Pears, Philipp Pelzl, Martina Schlusnus, Anna Várnai, Daniel Wünsch
Concept & design (project MOTAU)
