intelligent Asset Management Platform for Hydropower operation and maintenance

The iAMP-Hydro project will improve the digital operation of existing plants through the development of 6 expected results (R) which will collectively form iAMP - a novel intelligent Asset Management Platform (see result R5 in Fig. 1) encompassing secure open and transparent data sharing protocols (R4) and three novel digital solutions: R1.

Condition monitoring and predictive maintenance modelling; R2. Ecological status monitoring and water management; R3. Improved weather and flow forecasting.

The full package of digital solutions will be validated at a diverse set of five real-world existing hydropower plants producing evidence for policy making to support the green and digital transition of hydropower (R6).

The existing plants include differing power capacities, electro-mechanical equipment type, water end-use, flow and head regimes, climatic conditions, and environmental sensitivities (biodiversity).The project will increase the technology competitiveness of existing hydro by reducing O&M costs by 5-10%, improving generation and revenues, increasing flexibility and data-driven decision making in hydropower operations.

It will also increase the market penetration of renewables in the grid by 8.4 TWh, and getting closer to the EU 2030 Climate and Energy targets, and EU green deal. iAMP-Hydro will improve environmental and socio-economic sustainability of the existing hydropower fleet by reducing operating costs by €1 billion per annum, reducing CO2 emissions by 1260 tonnes, creating 10,000 future-proof jobs, and enabling environmentally sustainable flow regulation using digital solutions.

The project will advance the scientific basis for hydropower digitalization by developing, validating and providing a roadmap for the further development of 5 new digital technologies. We will produce 10 peer reviewed journal publications and 20 conference publications.