Brussels, 20 November 2025 — ETIP HYDROPOWER released last thursday 20th November three new White Papers dedicated to biodiversity, focusing on some of the most relevant interactions between hydropower operations and river ecosystems: fish mobility, environmental flows and hydropeaking, and sediment dynamics.

Developed by experts from Working Group 2, the series compiles state-of-the-art knowledge, European practices, and recommendations to support hydropower operators, researchers, and policy makers in advancing environmentally sustainable hydropower.

White Paper on Enabling Fish Mobility at Hydropower Plants

This paper highlights the role of fish migration in maintaining river connectivity and biodiversity. It reviews current technologies and solutions to improve upstream and downstream passage, including nature-like and technical fishways, fish lifts, bypass systems, behavioural guidance structures, and fish-friendly turbines.

It stresses the need for:

• Comprehensive site-specific assessments combining hydraulic and biological perspectives. 
• Clear criteria and performance standards for both upstream and downstream measures. 
• Integration of monitoring and adaptive management to ensure effectiveness over time.
• The document also identifies research gaps in areas such as fish behaviour, cumulative impacts, and the performance of innovative downstream solutions.

Download the White Paper on Fish Mobility

White Paper on Environmental Flows and Hydropeaking

This paper explores how environmental flows (E-flows) and hydropeaking management can reconcile river ecosystem needs with flexible hydropower production. It summarises methodologies applied across Europe (from hydrological and habitat-based to integrative approaches) and provides guidance for their implementation.

Key recommendations include:

• Developing robust, transparent, and adaptive E-flow methods grounded in ecological evidence. 
• Implementing long-term monitoring of both hydrological and biological indicators. 
• Considering hydropeaking mitigation measures, such as ramping rate control, re-regulation basins, and coordinated operation of plants.
• The paper calls for harmonised European approaches and the integration of E-flow considerations in hydropower licensing and policy frameworks.

Download the White Paper on E-flow and Hydropeaking

White Paper on Sediment Dynamics

Sediment transport is essential to river morphology, habitats, and infrastructure resilience. This White Paper explains how hydropower operations alter sediment continuity and outlines a comprehensive set of management measures to address it: such as sediment flushing, sluicing, venting, bypassing, replenishment, and dredging.

Its main messages include:

• The importance of catchment-scale and multi-stakeholder planning for sediment management. 
• Promoting integrated monitoring systems to track sediment fluxes and ecological effects. 
• Encouraging research and innovation in emerging solutions such as sediment venting and robotic dredging.
• By re-establishing sediment continuity, these practices can deliver joint benefits for ecosystems and reservoir performance.

Download the White Paper on Sediment Dynamics

Together, the three White Papers illustrate practical ways to achieve “win-win” solutions between hydropower operation and river ecology. They provide knowledge that supports the objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive, the Nature Restoration Regulation, and the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), contributing to Europe’s broader goals for a climate-resilient and nature-positive energy transition.

Piacenza, Italy — 30 November 2025. At the AQUAWATT Forum, a workshop titled “ETIP HYDROPOWER: Shaping the Future of Sustainable Hydropower in Europe” presented the European Technology and Innovation Platform on Hydropower (ETIP HYDROPOWER) to stakeholders from industry, research, and policy.

Hydropower remains a vital component of Europe’s clean energy transition, providing flexible, reliable, and renewable electricity. The workshop underscored how ETIP HYDROPOWER is designed to unify the sector’s voice, promote innovation and sustainability, and align strategic actions with EU climate and energy objectives.

Platform mission and governance

Antonella Frigerio, Vice Director at RSE and Co-Chair of the ETIP HYDROPOWER Governing Board, opened the session by outlining the platform’s mission, structure, and strategic priorities. She emphasised the need to reposition hydropower as a central pillar of the European Green Deal—able to deliver flexibility, storage, and climate resilience. Frigerio also highlighted the importance of Research and Innovation Agendas (RIA) and the Strategic Industrial Roadmap (SIR) to guide future developments, and called for stronger recognition of hydropower within EU policy frameworks.

Sector challenges and recommended actions

Jean-Jacques Fry, representing the ETIP HYDROPOWER Secretariat, identified three priority challenges for scaling hydropower deployment across Europe:

1. further minimising environmental impacts while meeting increasingly stringent EU regulations;
2. improving public and political awareness of hydropower’s role in the energy transition; and
3. enhancing competitiveness by ensuring appropriate remuneration for system and grid services.

To address these, Fry recommended:

• sustained dialogue with the European Commission through an Implementation Working Group on hydropower to advance the SET Plan;
• targeted awareness-raising among citizens and European decision-makers; and
• collaborative research to boost innovation within a sustainable framework, taking inspiration from approaches such as CEATI in North America

Preview of ETIP HYDROPOWER White Papers

The workshop also served as the exclusive preview of the ETIP HYDROPOWER White Papers developed by the platform’s Working Groups:

• WG1 – Flexibility and Storage: Leonardo Nibbi emphasized the urgent need to recognize hydropower’s unique ability to provide long-duration energy storage, especially through pumped storage, fast ramping to maintain grid stability, and black start capabilities. To fully unlock its potential, investments in innovation, fair market conditions, tailored support mechanisms, proper remuneration, and streamlined permitting by Member States are essential.
• WG2 – Biodiversity: Andrea Abbate and Marco Tangi highlighted three primary challenges: (1) enabling fish migration, (2) managing environmental flow and hydropeaking, and (3) understanding sediment dynamics. They emphasised the importance of integrating ecological considerations into hydropower planning and operations, referencing existing standards and regulations while advocating for unified and standardised strategies grounded in holistic, balanced and robust methods to safeguard river ecosystems.

• WG3 – Climate Change: Arianna Trevisiol, starting from climate projections and expected changes on hydrological cycle impacting on hydropower plants production and safety across Europe, highlighted hydropower’s dual function in mitigation and adaptation. Strengthening its resilience and contribution to climate-proof water and energy systems demands modernizing infrastructure, leveraging digital tools, predictive optimization and real-time monitoring to enhance the efficiency of power production and water management, adopting adaptive resource management strategies, fostering multi-actor collaboration to balance water and energy priorities, integrating science-based climate data into strategic planning, and enhancing cross-border cooperation to optimize benefits and mitigate risks.

In addition, a short video on hydropower’s flexibility potential was premiered, showcasing real-world examples of how hydropower assets across Europe are supporting the integration of variable renewables and enhancing system reliability.

World Hydropower Outlook 2025

Matteo Bianciotto of the International Hydropower Association (IHA) presented insights from the World Hydropower Outlook 2025, including:

• Over 24 GW of new hydropower capacity added globally in 2024, including 8.4 GW of pumped storage.
• Hydropower now supplies 14.3% of global electricity, with Europe contributing 680 TWh in 2024.
• A global pipeline of 1,075 GW, with 600 GW in pumped storage development.
• In Europe, a pipeline with around ten times more pumped storage capacity than conventional hydropower, indicating the region is approaching a point where pumped storage could add more capacity than conventional hydropower.

Policy momentum: the Paris Pledge

Bianciotto also introduced the Paris Pledge, a declaration signed by more than 50 European stakeholders calling for:

1. expansion of long-duration energy storage via pumped hydropower;
2. regulatory reforms to streamline permitting and incentivise investment; and
3. recognition of hydropower’s role in climate adaptation and water management.

The pledge was formally presented to the European Commission in Brussels on 11 September 2025, reinforcing the sector’s commitment to a resilient and decarbonised energy system.

The HYDRO 2025 Conference in Thessaloniki, Greece (22-24 October 2025), brought together over 1,000 participants to discuss innovation from almost 70 countries, to discuss topics ranging from dam safety and environmental management to climate resilience, artificial intelligence applications, and the growing role of pumped storage in renewable energy integration.

Anton Schleiss, Coordinator of ETIP HYDROPOWER, chaired the session on European initiatives supporting hydropower, where five presentations showcased the results of ongoing EU-funded R&I projects. Schleiss also lectured at the pre-conference workshop on pumped storage hydropower, presented the latest achievements of ETIP HYDROPOWER at the IEA Hydro TCP Executive Committee Meeting, joined a World Bank–led roundtable on sedimentation management, and delivered a technical talk on piano key weirs and wooden debris impacts in the Gates and Spillways session.

Denis Aelbrecht, Chair of the ETIP HYDROPOWER Governing Board, chaired the session on Climate change – risk and resilience, while Emanuele Quaranta, Chair of the Working Group on Promotion, Dissemination and Uptake of European R&I Projects, contributed to the Small Hydro session with a presentation on the potential and opportunities for small hydropower in the European Union and the role of emerging policies. He also introduced the European initiatives supporting hydropower session with reflections on how excellence in science and industrial innovation can jointly strengthen Europe’s hydropower sector and policy impact.

During the event, Anton Schleiss, Denis Aelbrecht, and Emanuele Quaranta met with representatives of the European Commission’s DG International Partnerships (Pau Guix Ruiz and Michel Caubet) to discuss ongoing initiatives under the Global Gateway strategy, exploring opportunities to promote public–private hydropower projects worldwide with European sector involvement.

Several other ETIP HYDROPOWER members contributed to the programme, including Sera Lazaridou and Klaus Jorde (Governing Board members) as well as Atle Harby, Cécile Munch Alligné, Luc Deroo, and Miroslav Marence (Scientific Advisory Board members).

Through active participation at HYDRO 2025, ETIP HYDROPOWER highlighted its continued efforts to develop sustainable hydropower solutions and to connect scientific, industrial, and policy perspectives across Europe.