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Demonstration of sustainable hydropower refurbishment

Project description

Modernising hydropower for a sustainable future

To meet the growing need for renewable energy, hydropower capacity must rise from 1 360 GW in 2021 to over 2 500 GW by 2050. However, this expansion must adhere to modern sustainability standards that preserve biodiversity and combat climate change. The EU-funded ReHydro project addresses this challenge by demonstrating how European hydropower can be refurbished and modernised. Using advanced monitoring tools and innovative concepts like retrofitting with pumped hydro and hybridisation, ReHydro aims to boost efficiency and adaptability. The project will also help preserve biodiversity by developing fish-friendly turbines and enhance the monitoring of river ecosystems through the application of eDNA methods. Expected to create up to 1 150 new jobs and increase Europe’s global market share, ReHydro sets a new standard for sustainable hydropower.

Objective

Hydropower and storage capacity need to increase to meet the need for renewable and dispatchable power generation. According to IEA, worldwide hydro-power capacity should increase from 1,360 GW in 2021 to 1,563–1,782 GW by 2030 and up to over 2,500 GW in 2050. At the same time, hydropower refurbishment projects must implement modern sustainability standards that preserve biodiversity and contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The main objective of ReHydro is to demonstrate how European hydropower can be refurbished and modernized to be fit for a leading role in the future power system respecting sustainability requirements and societal needs in a climate change context. A suite of monitoring and digital tools (performance, cavitation, machine health) implemented at demonstration sites will improve hydropower efficiency. Innovative concepts like retrofitting with pumped hydro and hybridization will make hydropower fit for future markets.

ReHydro will demonstrate how biodiversity can be improved with new fish-friendly turbines, re-establishment of environmental flows, and monitored using new tools such as eDNA. Smarter use of water resources will also be implemented so that more services can be delivered to the power markets, while multi-purpose use of the water resources for navigation and recreation can be expanded and the ability to mitigate flooding and droughts is strengthened.

The results from ReHydro will achieve all the expected outcomes specified in the call. The solutions will give European hydropower industries commercial advantages to utilise the global need for hydropower expansion. It is expected that ReHydro's exploitable results will create 700–1150 new jobs in the manufacturing industry, increasing the global market by 275 mill euros.

ReHydro will introduce a new paradigm to boost European leadership and competitiveness in the hydropower industry and provide new sustainable solutions that are replicable at European and global levels.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

SINTEF ENERGI AS
Net EU contribution
€ 1 320 594,38
Address
Sem Saelandsveg 11
7465 Trondheim
Norway
Region
Norge Trøndelag Trøndelag
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
No data

Participants (17)

Partners (6)