Generate hydroelectric power from water in pipes

Hydropower accounts for approximately 35% of electricity generated from renewable sources, a unique combination of safe, low-cost and clean electricity production. Taking advantage of this form of green energy is vital in the transition towards more sustainable energy production models in order to increase resilience against the effects of global climate change.

However, the potential of hydraulic networks is still not being used sufficiently, especially those with low flow, such as pipes, irrigation canals or water currents. To take advantage of these untapped sources, the Hidden Hydro Oscillating Power for Europe – H-Hope project has been launched, financed by the Horizon Europe programme. The consortium is made up of 13 partners from nine countries, coordinated by the University of Padua (Italy), and including the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech (UPC), through the Barcelona Fluids & Energy Lab (IFLUIDS) research group ) and the Center for Technological Innovation in Static Converters and Drives (CITCEA).

Specifically, the project focuses on the development of innovative and sustainable solutions for capturing hydraulic energy from existing pipe systems, open streams and irrigation canals. Thus, a market for energy collectors is being promoted, which will digitize the networks to carry out real-time monitoring, reduce maintenance costs and improve management. As a result, managers of water supply networks and streams will also be able to operate their distribution systems more efficiently, saving energy and costs.

One of the designs of the device adapted to pipes, created by UPC researchers. (Image: UPC)

Innovative solutions to generate hydroelectric power

Within the framework of this project, the project partners will develop three technological devices for the generation of hydroelectric power, adapted to pipes, irrigation channels and open water channels, respectively, and which they will test and validate under conditions reproduced in the laboratory.

In this context, the work of the IFLUIDS research group and CITCEA, coordinated by researchers Xavier Escaler and Daniel Montesinos, respectively, will focus on the design of a solution adapted to water pipe applications. It is a device of approximately 20 centimeters, which incorporates piezoelectric materials and which, when vibrating inside the pipe, will generate hydroelectric energy. This energy would make it possible to power different systems, such as IoT (Internet of Things) sensors.

With the technology developed by the UPC researchers, operators of water supply networks and streams will be helped to identify potential pilot sites, as well as to collect and analyze the corresponding data that will support the design, testing and validation of energy.

The final objective of the project is to lay the foundations to design a technology at a commercial level that allows obtaining a new source of hydroelectric energy. The data obtained by this technology would allow, for example, measuring the quality of irrigation water for crops, managing irrigation, feeding weather stations with sensors for collecting different environmental parameters, monitoring biodiversity in a river or facilitating developing communities their own electricity generation infrastructure with a simple and low-cost system.

Likewise, the project will make an online platform available to citizens to facilitate the creation of their own hydroelectric power generation systems.

The project, financed under the European Union’s Climate, Energy and Mobility programme, will end in October 2026. (Source: UPC)