DIGITAL MAINTENANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE AND FLEXIBLE OPERATION OF HYDROPOWER PLANT

Di-Hydro contributes towards harnessing the full potential of hydro-power (HP) plants and clusters in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement, by development of tailored, optimized digital and smart decision-making tools for use in such plants, at scale. Indeed, Di-Hydro will develop smart devices and pro-active intelligent algorithms that utilize data acquired from static, dynamic, and alternative sources (e.g., satellites) so as to predict the operational and maintenance-related behavior of standalone HP plants and clusters, and we will then incorporate such algorithms in digital twins that can fully interrelate with such HP plants/clusters, yielding, eventually, an intelligent, fully-replicable decision-making tool for optimal coordination of environmentally mindful power generation from such plants/clusters (based on the foreseen market needs and the intended commercial strategy of their owners). Notably, a wide variety of previous plant digitization levels, weather and water flow conditions, biodiversity, environmental and societal issues pertinent to such HP clusters are incorporated in the integrated practical solution developed here, mainly by leveraging innovative sensor technologies, cutting-edge digital adaption for energy production, and optimized operation and maintenance practices based on next-gen information technology. The consortium is comprised of 13 partners, 3 of which are RTOs, 7 SMEs, and 3 large power enterprises (represented here by their hydro-power branches).