The Archimedes' screw, also known as the Archimedean screw, hydrodynamic screw, water screw or Egyptian screw, is one of the earliest hydraulic machines. Using Archimedes screws as water pumps dates back many centuries. As a machine used for lifting water from a low-lying body of water into irrigation ditches, water is lifted by turning a screw-shaped surface inside a pipe. In the modern world, Archimedes screw pumps are widely used in wastewater treatment plants and for dewatering low-lying regions. Run in reverse, Archimedes screw turbines act as a new form of small hydroelectric powerplant that can be applied even in low head sites. Such generators operate in a wide range of flows and heads, including low heads and moderate flow rates that is not ideal for traditional turbines and not occupied by high performance technologies. The Archimedes screw is a reversible hydraulic machine, and there are several examples of Archimedes screw installations where the screw can operate at different times as either pump or generator, depending on needs for power and watercourse flow.

A screw turbine is water turbine that converts the potential energy of water on an upstream level into work. This hydropower converter is driven by the weight of water, similar to water wheels, and can be considered as a quasi-static pressure machine. Archimedes screw generators operate in a wide range of flows and heads, including low heads and moderate flow rates that are not ideal for traditional turbines and not occupied by high performance technologies.