Status report on technology development, trends, value chains and markets
In 2022, the European Commission established the Clean Energy Technology Observatory (CETO) to address the complex transition to a climate-neutral society, emphasizing advanced technologies and innovation in sectors like hydropower. The energy crisis, brought on by the war against Ukraine, has highlighted the key role of hydropower in providing grid stability and dispatchable generation, as well as additional water supply and grid services. Pumped-Storage Hydropower holds more than 90% of energy storage, while generation from traditional hydropower provided 10% of total EU’s electricity generation. Increasing investments in the operation of hydropower plants are essential to bear the significant increase of stop&start cycles caused by the volatility of wind and photovoltaic electricity generation, and to provide flexibility to the energy system.
Hydropower is the flagship of renewables in the EU: the EU hydropower fleet is mostly “made in the EU”, with a centenary history. EU hydro companies contribute to global exports with the largest share and own the largest share of high-value inventions among the top 10 world companies. Hydropower reservoirs also provide services in the integrated water management sector, spanning from flood control to water supply in dry periods, storing the largest amount of water among all the types of water reservoirs in the EU. Water storage is a key option to grapple with climate changes and increased misalignment between water demand and availability, as also mentioned in the new EU Water Resilience Strategy. However, dams in freshwater and coastal water systems can cause environmental damages and require large initial investment costs. Therefore, considering the far-reaching effects across the Water-Energy-Society-Ecosystem nexus dimensions, sustainable hydropower needs to achieve a good balance between electricity generation and electricity grid services, impacts on ecosystems and benefits for society, supporting the achievement of the Green Deal targets and the objectives of renewable energy and water/environmental policies. Several sustainable hydropower options exist in the EU, that do not increase river fragmentation and minimize adverse impacts, and that are summarized in this report.
Hydropower remains a key technology to strengthen the competitiveness of the EU in an increasingly challenging world and to support the green energy transition.
QUARANTA Emanuele;
GEORGAKAKI Aliki;
LETOUT Simon;
MOUNTRAKI Aikaterini;
INCE Ela;
GEA BERMUDEZ Juan;
SCHMITZ Andreas;
2025-11-28
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC143929
978-92-68-34357-9 (online),
1831-9424 (online),
EUR 40550,
OP KJ-01-25-597-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC143929,
10.2760/3389272 (online),
