The momentum around pumped storage hydropower (PSH) has never been greater. As electricity grids face growing volatility from renewables like wind and solar, one technology stands out as a long-duration, proven, and scalable solution: pumped storage. And for Vienna-based software provider HYDROGRID, its potential has been clear from the beginning.
“We make hydro a power for the future,” says HYDROGRID CEO Janice Goodenough, “by enabling it to act as a green battery for the grid.”
HYDROGRID’s software platform, Insight, already optimises the operation of hydro plants worldwide. The company’s mission has always centred on flexibility and digital transformation – but now, with the launch of its pumped storage module, it’s taking that vision to the next level.
“Optimisation for pumped storage is a natural extension of what we’ve already been doing for the last eight years,” Goodenough explains. “Hydropower already provides more than 60% of global renewable energy, and pumped storage is the largest form of grid-scale energy storage in the world.”
With over 12TWh of storage capacity – and more coming online each year – pumped storage offers something no other clean energy technology can: the ability to shift massive volumes of power over time, balancing the intermittency of wind and solar while strengthening grid resilience.
“It’s the largest tool we have to enable a renewable transition,” she says. “So clearly, we need to make the most of it. ”
Building the case for storage
According to Goodenough, HYDROGRID’s development of a dedicated PSH module is demand-driven.
“There are two main reasons we developed it now,” she says. “The first is that we’re seeing a lot of interest from clients around the world who are developing new pumped storage.”
Much of that demand is already moving from the drawing board to reality. “There is this huge base of pumped storage plants that are already built, and in addition there is a huge amount in the investment pipeline,” she notes.
She points to data from the International Hydropower Association (IHA), which shows that the pumped storage development pipeline is roughly 30% larger than the pipeline for conventional hydropower, and also further advanced in stage. That growth, she argues, is being driven by one increasingly urgent need: flexibility.
“Flexibility is the missing piece in the renewable energy transition,” says Goodenough. “And pumped storage is the perfect technology to meet that need. We are also seeing policymakers come to that realisation, resulting in important support schemes for investment in PSP being extended or developed at least in some regions. All of this creates a certain level of appetite within the industry.”
How pumped storage optimisation works
So what exactly sets HYDROGRID’s new PSH optimisation module apart?
First, it supports the entire lifecycle of a pumped storage project – from pre-investment simulation to live operational optimisation.
“With HYDROGRID, operators can for example simulate adding a pumped storage capability to an existing plant using a digital twin,” says Goodenough. “They can then run a simulation using real historical market data – say over the last three years – and see how much more revenue they could have earned with the added flexibility of pumped storage.”
Then, once the physical plant is built, the same digital twin can be converted into a real-time optimisation tool, live in the system.
“That way, the transition to really getting the most out of a new asset financially is really fast,” says Goodenough. “Even though the physical construction of pumped storage can take years, getting the live optimisation within HYDROGRID up and running starting from the digital twin takes just weeks.”
Ease of deployment is another distinguishing factor. “It’s simple to go live with HYDROGRID Insight,” she adds. “And because it’s a modular platform, the PSH module integrates seamlessly with everything else – from inflow forecasting to maintenance planning.”
The maintenance integration is critical. “Our maintenance planning tool lets users easily schedule and also compare different maintenance timeframes options,” she explains. “You can see within less than a minute how much each option would cost in terms of downtime and lost revenue. That allows much more strategic planning.”
From simulation to operation
HYDROGRID’s PSH module has already been deployed in the field. Although the first project is currently under NDA, Goodenough reveals that it’s a closed-loop pumped storage facility in central Europe.
“This plant is built purely for flexibility – there’s no natural inflow” she explains. “It’s a closed-loop system designed from the ground up to support the grid. That’s a perfect use case for the software.”
Such projects are becoming more common as energy systems prioritise dispatchable, zero-emission flexibility.
Rapid response, one platform
One of the most powerful features of the module is how quickly it can respond to changing circumstances.
“In terms of operational efficiency, the biggest benefit is reaction speed,” says Goodenough.
She gives a practical example: “Suppose a turbine goes offline unexpectedly in a cascade system. That affects multiple other plants in the same hydrological system – when they’ll get water, how much, and what that means for generation.”
With HYDROGRID Insight, the operator can immediately reoptimise the rest of the cascade, update market trading positions, and minimise lost value.
“This whole chain – detecting the issue, rebalancing generation, adjusting the power market action, possibly with intraday trading – happens within less than 60 minutes, all within one system,” says Goodenough. “With legacy setups, that could take days and require four or five different tools.”
The result is a smoother, more efficient, and more profitable operation – even under pressure.
“It also gives everyone – the maintenance team, the traders, the planners – a shared view of reality. That’s crucial when you need to act fast.”
Intelligence that improves decisions
The software’s machine learning capabilities also deliver significant advantages.
“In pump storage, you’re not just deciding how much to generate – you also decide when to pump,” says Goodenough. “That adds complexity.”
Plants may have separate pump and turbine units – or a combined unit that can do both, though not simultaneously. In some cases, both modes may operate briefly at the same time.
“The term for this is “hydraulic short circuit,” she explains. “The need to perform this magical feat of engineering can occur when hydro operators are delivering short-notice grid services and need to have both a pump and a turbine synchronised to the grid to react quickly in both up and down-regulation within a very short time frame of about 90 seconds, which is typical for secondary reserve products (meaning any spinning reserve with automated activation) – these grid reserve products are in most countries called ‘aFRR’ (short for ‘automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve’). So knowing whether pumping and turbine generation is in principle physically possible at the same time is important”
HYDROGRID’s system allows for that level of detail. And while it leverages AI, Goodenough emphasises that it avoids generative AI.
“We have always used machine learning models, which based on their complexity would now be classified as ‘agentic AI’ – intelligence that combines multiple input data sources to derive optimal actions and outputs in a way that’s testable and traceable. But we do not use large language models or other generalised AI in our product,” she says. “Because this is critical infrastructure. Safety and security are paramount.”
Two examples highlight how this intelligence works in practice.
First, the system can detect deviations from weather forecasts – say, an unexpected downpour – and adjust the operational plan accordingly.
“If your reservoir is near full and it suddenly rains, the system might suggest switching from generation to pumping,” she says. “It checks every hour whether the current plan is still optimal and recommends changes if not.”
Second, in maintenance planning, the platform can model multiple scheduling options – such as two weeks of work sometime between July and September – and show the revenue loss for each.
“It would tell you within about 60 seconds what your options are: If you do this 3-day maintenance in the second week of August, you lose $250,000. If instead you do it over the first weekend in September, you only lose $90,000 in revenue,” says Goodenough. “Then you can decide if it’s worth the extra effort of weekend labour.”
Markets in transition
HYDROGRID sees growth potential for pumped storage in both developing and developed markets.
“In emerging economies, we’re seeing a lot of new build,” says Goodenough. “But in liberalised, mature markets, there’s huge potential to upgrade existing plants.”
That might mean turning a conventional storage plant into a pumped storage facility – replacing or retrofitting turbines, often without major new construction.
She also points to growing negative electricity prices in places like the Nordics and the US.
“That’s a clear signal from the market,” she says. “If you had pumped storage, you could support the grid and profit at the same time.”
With HYDROGRID’s investment simulation tool, operators can model such opportunities before committing.
Pumped storage and batteries: better together
The surge in pumped storage could be a complement to battery storage, Goodenough discussed during the interview.
“There’s no contradiction between batteries and pumped storage,” she explains. “Even under the most optimistic estimates, batteries offer storage on the scale of a few hours. Maybe three to six hours at full capacity. But that’s not enough to even cover a single day-night cycle – let alone longer periods of low wind or solar output.”
This is where pumped storage steps in. With much longer duration and far greater storage volume per MW capacity, it’s uniquely suited to handling those gaps.
“Even with the most optimistic battery projections, pumped storage hydropower will still be about 10 times the size of battery storage in terms of storage volume long past 2030,” she says. “We need both technologies – and more of them – in every scenario.”
Goodenough also highlights the emerging interest in co-locating batteries with hydro plants. “There’s a fascinating opportunity in what we call hybrid hydro,” she explains, “which means adding battery storage to a conventional hydropower plant to create a kind of virtual mini-pumped storage.”
Especially for run-of-river plants with no storage of their own, this opens new commercial possibilities. “You can use a battery in place of a physical reservoir,” she says. “This allows plant owners to participate in short-term markets, optimise production, and reduce imbalance and grid penalties.”
HYDROGRID already has this functionality on its roadmap for 2026. But, Goodenough adds, “Let’s be clear: we’re talking about micro storage. A few hours at most. It’s great for certain use cases, but it can’t replace medium or long-duration pumped storage.”
The road ahead
So, what’s next? For HYDROGRID, one milestone will be the IHA’s Pumped Storage Forum in Paris this September. Goodenough will be speaking and delivering the Pumped Storage Pledge to European policymakers.
“This is about shaping markets to enable the private investment we need for the energy transition,” she says.
Beyond that, HYDROGRID will keep evolving its platform – gradually, steadily, and purposefully.
“Our client base already includes every hydro configuration, across every climate and market,” says Goodenough. “From run-of-river to pumped storage. From 1MW to over 500MW.”
And the goal remains clear: practical, high-impact improvements that help the sector rise to the challenge of the transition.
“This industry doesn’t need revolution,” she says. “It needs evolution – 5 to 10% improvement every year for the next 15 years. That’s how we’ll fulfil hydropower’s full potential.”
A passion worth pursuing
For Goodenough, the work is both personal and profound.
“Anyone who’s visited a pumped storage plant and stood beneath a generator knows the beauty of this engineering,” she says. “To deliver software that supports that – that brings me and the entire team at HYDROGRID real joy.”
Ultimately, she believes hydropower professionals share a common purpose.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a more impactful industry to work in,” she says. “Hydropower delivers clean, flexible, reliable energy. And we’re proud to be part of making it even better.”
Look out for a discussion on pumped storage and battery storage working together in a later edition of International Water Power & Dam Construction
