Author(s): Anders G. Andersson; Kanchan Shrestha; Rezar Lleshi; Massimo Guerrero; Vittorio Di Federico
Linked Author(s): Massimo Guerrero
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Here presented is the development of digital twins for hydraulic modelling and sediment management of pumped hydropower storage within the Horizon Europe project Store2Hydro. Initially, the modelling of pumped storage hydropower in existing hydropower infrastructure was performed on generic cases in Work Package 2 (WP2) of the project in order to demonstrate the technology for a wide range of morphologic and hydraulic conditions representing different types of European rivers. The results show that morphologic parameters such as river slope, cross-section shape and river size are important, not only for the storage capacity, but also for the local hydraulic conditions when virtually converting conventional hydropower plants to pumped storage plants. Simulations including the sediment dynamics also show that cyclic pumping influences both sediment deposition/erosion patterns close to the power plant in the short term and the long-term build-up in the reach. These models will be extended to real geometries and test-cases within WP5 during the next two years, which will also include environmental impact assessments.
Year: 2026