Hydropower and Ocean Energy Join Forces under a New SET Plan Implementation Working Group

Under the European Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan, ocean energy and hydropower have been brought together in a single Implementation Working Group (IWG), strengthening coordination around the strategic role of water-based renewable energy technologies in Europe’s transition towards a secure, competitive and climate-neutral energy system.

The newly consolidated Implementation Working Group on Ocean Energy and Hydropower brings together expertise from marine and freshwater technologies while maintaining dedicated subgroups for each sector. For hydropower, the Hydropower Generation and Storage subgroup covers run-of-river and storage hydropower as well pumped storage hydropower, recognising their contribution to flexibility, long-duration energy storage due to reservoirs, grid stability, security of supply and the integration of increasing shares of variable renewable energy.

The new structure responds to the need for stronger coordination between research and innovation, policy and investment, while addressing several shared priorities across the two sectors. These include access to investment and revenue support, permitting, environmental performance, digitalisation and predictive operation, resilient European supply chains and skills.

A vision for hydropower towards 2050

The recently published Thematic Vision on Ocean Energy and Hydropower sets out the objectives and long-term ambitions of the IWG.

For hydropower, priorities include accelerating the deployment of pumped hydropower storage and the modernisation, repowering and storage-oriented optimisation of existing assets; advancing digitalisation and data-driven operation; and strengthening hydropower's contribution to system adequacy, balancing, grid stability and system restoration.

Environmental performance is also embedded in the vision, with objectives covering biodiversity protection, ecological continuity, adaptation to changing hydrological conditions, and climate and water resilience. The IWG will also address the market, regulatory, permitting and investment frameworks needed to enable deployment.

Looking towards 2050, the ambition is for Europe to have a modernised, repowered, digitally enabled and climate-resilient hydropower fleet, with improved efficiency, flexibility, availability, safety and environmental performance. The vision positions this fleet as a cornerstone of a secure and flexible European electricity system.

Connecting European R&I priorities

The establishment of the consolidated IWG provides an important framework for coordinating European and national research and innovation priorities and strengthening the links between technology development, policy and market deployment.

For ETIP HYDROPOWER, this development is particularly relevant to its work supporting the implementation of the SET Plan and bringing together the European hydropower R&I community. The priorities identified by the new IWG — including flexibility and storage, modernisation, digitalisation, environmental sustainability, resilience and industrial competitiveness — are closely connected to the areas addressed through ETIP HYDROPOWER's activities and stakeholder community.

The IWG subgroup on Hydropower Generation and Storage, chaired by Denis Beev (Bulgaria), is driven by representatives from Bulgaria, France, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden, while temporary observers (e.g. ETIP HYDROPOWER) participate in discussions and activities on an ad hoc basis.

The European Commission has published the Thematic Vision and the Mandate for the Implementation Working Group on Ocean Energy and Hydropower through the SET Plan Information System (SETIS).

Discover the new IWG, its objectives and documents: Ocean Energy and Hydropower – SETIS