H-HOPE will take part in Hydropower Day 2026, organised by ETIP Hydropower in Brussels on 8 September. The event will also host the project’s final closing session, bringing together H-HOPE partners and stakeholders to share the results, lessons and achievements developed over the course of the project.
This year’s Hydropower Day is organised under the theme “Energy Security and Digital Transformation of Europe’s Power System.” The programme will explore how digital technologies and hydropower can contribute to a more resilient, flexible and secure European energy system.
For H-HOPE, the event provides an ideal setting to discuss how energy harvesting can support the digitalisation of water infrastructure. By converting energy available in water flows into electricity, energy harvesting technologies can provide a local and renewable power source for monitoring devices, sensors and other digital systems.
Enhancing resilient and digital water networks
H-HOPE will contribute to the technical session “Enhancing Resilience and Digitalisation in Sustainable Hydropower,” taking place in the Zinneke Room.
The session will open with a presentation by H-HOPE Project Coordinator Giovanna Cavazzini from the University of Padova, who will introduce the project’s work on powering the digital water future through energy harvesting.
Further contributions will explore different aspects of the technology and its potential applications:
- Edouard Doujak, TU Wien, will discuss how energy harvesting can increase the resilience of water supply networks.
- Urban Lundin, Uppsala University, and Pavel Rudolf, Brno University of Technology, will present the development of the technology across different scales, from laboratory open-stream testing to a full-scale open-channel demonstration.
- David Christian Finger, Reykjavik University, will examine the wider social, economic and environmental value of self-powered digital water networks.
Together, the presentations will provide an overview of the H-HOPE journey, from early-stage testing and modelling to real-world validation and assessment of the technology’s broader impact.
Sharing the results of H-HOPE
The Brussels event will mark the formal conclusion of the H-HOPE project and provide an opportunity to reflect on the progress achieved by the consortium.
Over the course of the project, H-HOPE partners have worked to develop and test energy harvesting systems capable of operating in water networks, open channels and other low-velocity flow environments. The project has combined engineering, modelling, laboratory testing, demonstration activities and sustainability assessment to better understand how these technologies can support more autonomous and resilient digital water systems.
The final event will allow participants to learn more about the project’s technical results, demonstration activities and potential future applications. It will also create space for discussion on how energy harvesting solutions can be further developed, replicated and integrated into Europe’s water and energy infrastructure.
Join us in Brussels
Hydropower Day 2026 will bring together policymakers, researchers, industry representatives, technology providers and members of the wider hydropower community.
Alongside the H-HOPE session, the programme will include high-level keynote speeches, plenary debates, technical presentations from European research and innovation projects, and an exhibition area showcasing new technologies and solutions.
We look forward to meeting the hydropower and water innovation community in Brussels and sharing the final results of H-HOPE.
Date: Tuesday, 8 September 2026
Time: 09:00–17:00 CEST
Location: Brussels Info Place, Brussels, Belgium
Registration and the full programme are available here:
https://luma.com/kl9liltc