HERI – Research Actions Database

Welcome to the HERI Research Actions Database. The database provides details of past and present research actions related to all aspects of hydropower. The database has been structured following the categorisation developed for the HYDROPOWER EUROPE research and innovation agenda, and Strategic Industry Roadmap.

The database contents have been collated from a variety of organisations working on research actions across all sectors of the hydropower industry. The information has been share freely and is available as open access. You can search the database or add details of new initiatives to the database via the buttons below.

A brief video introduction to HERI:

 

What, why and how we use data ➧

Don't see your research project listed?

Click Here

Hybrid power plants comprising hydropower, Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors

Description

The main project goal is analyzing the advantages of the coordinated operation of a hydropower plant and a set of Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors. For this purpose, novel control strategies have been developed for the provision of frequency containment reserves (FCR) and automatic frequency restoration reserves (aFRR) by hybrid power plants, comprising hydropower units, batteries and supercapacitors. The developed control strategies have been tested by means of hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations. The HIL platform comprises a Li-ion battery and a supercapacitor, each with its corresponding inverter, and a real-time digital simulator. A dynamic simulation model of the hydropower plant, along with the developed control algorithms, have been implemented in the real-time digital simulator. The real-time simulator communicates in real-time with the low-level controller of the battery and supercapacitor inverters, and coordinates the operation of the hydropower units, the battery and the supercapacitor so as to provide FCR and aFRR in an efficient manner. In addition, several optimization models are under development for the short-term generation scheduling of the hybrid hydropower plant.

Organisations

  • Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT) - Coordinator
  • Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Coordinator

Funding

  • National funding

Specific Funding Sources:
N/A

Level of Action:

National: SPAIN

Applications

Small-hydro, Large-hydro, Run-of-the-River, Storage Hydropower, Pumped Storage

Keywords

Digitalization, Flexibility, Grids, Maintenance, Modeling / Simulation

Areas of Research

Research and Innovation Agenda

  • Pilot projects integrating hydropower with other RE sources and energy storage systems
  • Novel control strategies for the provision of balancing services by hybrid hydropower plants
  • Optimization models for the short-term generation scheduling of hybrid hydropower plants

Strategic Industry Roadmap

  • Increase Resilience by Mitigating the Impact of Ageing and Maintaining the High Safety Level of Power Plants

Last Updated: 27/08/2025 16:44

Request Editing Rights

HYBRIDHYDRO

Start Date
2022
End Date
2025

Budget Range
€100,000 - €500,000

 

« Back
Funded by
the European Union