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.