Following the successful 16^th Seminar in 2010 (with about 350 participants) the "Institute for Energy Systems and Thermodynamics", Research group "Fluid-Flow machinery" and the "Institute for Testing and Research (LTD)" at the Vienna University of Technology in Austria are organizing the oncoming event.

Objectives

Within the last few years, further developments in Hydropower were largely driven by the expansion of wind and PV energy. The fluctuating production of alternative energy sources can be compensated by pumped storage. With the expansion of such energy sources, new pumped storage hydropower plants will be necessary in the alpine regions of Europe. Some plants are already in progress, with additional plants still in the planning phase.

Moreover, new energy storage technologies, such as utilizing abandoned mines or maritime regions, are being seriously considered. Much discussion concerns the storage and distribution of electrical energy. Whereas several energy storage technologies are already approved, the transmission grid is still in development. It follows that such a complex issue cannot be treated in isolation and that only the collaboration of all fields will solve the energy challenges of the future. Hydropower will be relevant in the solution of this global problem and will play the leading role in the interaction of energy storage and transmission grid.

The objective of the Seminar is to provide a forum for exchanging information and ideas as well as presenting new developments in various fields of Hydropower.