The goal of D-HYDROFLEX is to increase the potential of the existing EU hydropower fleet in providing flexibility to the energy system, improve the overall annual efficiency of hydroelectric plants by optimizing their performance and ensure that their operation becomes more sustainable through the provision of a palette of innovative digital solutions integrated within the D-HYDROFLEX Hydropower 4.0 Toolkit. This toolkit consists of tools for predictive maintenance, forecasting, environmental monitoring and cyber shielding while integrates high-level workflows for processes such as digital twin creation, decision support analytics and AI-based intrusions detection. More specifically, D-HYDROFLEX develops a cloud-based monitoring and diagnostics centre that will provide plant operators with remote, real-time insights into overall plant operations, and functionalities such as alarms and notifications. The M&D will also support a wide range of monitoring and analysis features including energy production, H2 production, and flow forecasting.
D-HYDROFLEX strengthens hydropower’s role in the energy transition by digitising the EU hydropower fleet with user-friendly solutions that boost flexibility and efficiency. It advances scientific knowledge in digital twins, machine learning for predictive maintenance and forecasting, and explainable AI for optimising hydropower-hydrogen co-production. The project also contributes to cybersecurity through research in federated intrusion detection models (FIDMs), improving detection accuracy beyond current standards
From a business and technology innovation perspective, D-HYDROFLEX facilitates the digitalization of hydropower plants, reducing maintenance costs and increasing revenues through improved availability and operational efficiency. It enables system operators to fully leverage hydropower’s flexibility, while offering manufacturers and technology providers opportunities to deliver advanced IoT, edge, and cloud-based solutions
From an environmental perspective, the project aims to reduce the ecological footprint of hydropower plants by testing biodiversity monitoring methods and integrating image processing and novel sensors to study fish species and support environmentally compliant operations
From a social perspective, D-HYDROFLEX promotes awareness of hydropower as a clean energy source, addressing public concerns about its environmental impact and highlighting the benefits of modernised hydropower infrastructure
