The Pan-European Network for Sustainable Hydropower, PEN@Hydropower, has completed its four-year programme, producing publications, training materials and research reports covering plant modernisation, flexibility, environmental performance and climate adaptation.
The network, supported through European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), ran from September 2022 to September 2026. It brought together researchers, industry representatives, policymakers and civil society through five working groups, supported by research exchanges, training schools and stakeholder events.
Among its outputs is the whitepaper Digitalisation in Hydropower, which sets out recommendations for modernising existing plants using secure data systems, artificial intelligence, predictive maintenance and digital twins.
Developed by Working Group 2, the paper links digital investment to plant refurbishment. It calls for common data foundations, demonstration projects and skills development, alongside appropriate recognition of the flexibility services hydropower provides to the electricity system.
The network also contributed to the open-access book Rethinking Hydropower: A Holistic Vision for a Sustainable Future, published by Springer in September 2026. Edited by Eduard Doujak, Sebastian Muntean, Daniel Patauner and Elena Vagnoni, it covers sustainable hydropower assessment, professional training, technology and policy.
Five training schools held in Timișoara, Thessaloniki, Porto, Uppsala and Salzburg attracted more than 110 participants. Combining lectures, stakeholder exercises and visits to operating plants, the schools covered application of the Hydropower Sustainability Standard and assessment of projects from environmental, social, governance and technical perspectives.
Research collaboration was supported through Short-Term Scientific Missions, virtual mobility and conference grants. Reports from these exchanges address subjects including the relationship between hydropower flexibility and machine lifetime, barriers to digitalisation, greenhouse gas emissions, climate impacts and social acceptance.
Workforce development activities included a women’s mentoring programme, with six mentor–mentee pairs in 2024–2025 and seven in 2025–2026. Young Researchers and Innovators accounted for more than half of the membership in each of the network’s five working groups.
Stakeholder discussions in Naples examined system integration, digitalisation, social acceptance and regulatory priorities. A Knowledge Symposium on Hydropower Research Gaps, co-hosted with EERA JP Hydropower, considered flexibility, biodiversity, climate change and infrastructure resilience.
The programme culminated in the Rethinking Hydropower Dialogue in Brussels on 7 September 2026, ahead of its formal conclusion on 13 September.
Chaired by Dr Eduard Doujak of TU Wien, PEN@Hydropower was the first COST Action focused on hydropower technology and sustainability. Its publications, research reports and training materials remain available through the network’s online Results and Knowledge Base.
