Paris | 9 - 10 September 2025

International Forum on Pumped Storage Hydropower

Join global leaders delivering high-level action that shapes the future of energy storage and contributes to the global energy transition

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Pumped storage hydropower

Clean, green renewable water batteries

Hydropower's role

Modern, affordable
and flexible

Industry good practice

Safeguarding communities and the environment

About the forum

This two-day global event at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris will bring together global leaders in pumped storage to accelerate the adoption of the world’s largest renewable battery to achieve 1,500 GW of energy storage

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Hosting partner

Gold partner

Silver partners

Global Alliance for Pumped Storage

IHA has brought together an alliance of over 35 organisations including 14 national governments, to pave the way for policies and practices that allow for pumped storage development on a global scale.
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Voices from the 2021 International Forum on Pumped Storage Hydropower

Pumped storage will provide long duration energy storage that will become increasingly valuable in future as shares of variable renewable energy increase. The U.S.Department of Energy is keen to work with all participants to learn from each other to share experience and best practices."

Daniel R Simmons, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), U.S.Department of Energy

"The Moroccan Government has proceeded with energy reforms based on national energy strategy. The link with pumped storage is how to encourage, explore and manage our endogenous pumped storage resources. At this Forum, we would like to explore the optimal energy storage strategy and compare different technologies such as hydrogen, batteries and pumped storage."

Moulay Abdellah ZOUBIR IDRISSI, Director of Electricity at Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment, Morocco

"We see a big opportunity in the future of hydropower, be it traditional storage and pumped storage. Hydropower is often forgotten as the largest source of renewable energy and has other useful qualities which we don’t find in wind and solar."

Oivind Johansen, Assistant Director General at Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Norway

"India has an aggressive and ambitious plan to decarbonise the country’s power generation. This would require a large amount of storage. The Forum would be of great help to India to achieve its ambitious renewable targets."

Aniruddha Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources, India

Key themes and topics

Global perspectives and leadership

Gain insights from senior leaders and experts on the future of pumped storage in a decarbonized world.

Regional policy and market trends

Explore how regional policies and market dynamics shape the development of pumped storage hydropower.

Energy system integration and grid flexibility

Delve into innovations in pumped storage that are supporting renewable integration and enhancing grid flexibility.

Sustainability and environmental resilience

Discover how pumped storage can contribute to sustainable development and climate resilience.

Financing and investment strategies

Learn about innovative approaches to financing pumped storage projects and derisking investments.

Project delivery and supply chain optimisation

Discussing changing regulations in the energy sector.

Pumped storage resources

Enabling new pumped storage hydropower

Factsheet

Global storage target

Tracking tool

Opportunities for pumped storage development

The Stake holder forum

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What happened in 2021
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Special event: Tony Blair and Malcolm Turnbull in conversation

A special event on the opening day of Congress brought together two former Prime Ministers, both of whom played a pivotal role in putting climate change high on the national and global political agenda.

Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1997-2007) and Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia (2015-2018) outlined some of the critical considerations needed to advance sustainable hydropower; from how to avoid the risk of future blackouts through to how net zero can be achieved without a compromise to continued global growth.

China Three Gorges Corporation: Helping China to reach its net zero carbon goals

China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) is the world’s biggest investor in hydropower and also has an impressive solar and wind portfolio. It has taken a major step to expand China’s use of renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions with the opening of the Baihetan hydropower plant in June 2021.

Baihetan, in southwest China on the Jinsha River (a tributary of the Yangtze), has 16 generators with a capacity of 1 million kilowatts each. It is expected to be fully online by the end of 2022, and it is estimated that it will reduce carbon emissions by 51.6 million tonnes annually.

San José Declaration on Sustainable Hydropower

The San José Declaration on Sustainable Hydropower, issued at the conclusion of the World Hydropower Congress, outlines a vision for hydropower’s contribution to meeting global climate and development goals.

The Declaration was presented at COP26 and identified a set of principles, recommendations and commitments to guide new developments and enhance the sector’s contribution to the energy transition.

Launch of the Hydropower Sustainability Standard

At the 2021 Congress, hydropower companies and international organisations declared their support for a new sustainability certification scheme for hydropower.

The Hydropower Sustainability Standard will help to ensure that hydropower projects across the world are recognised and certified for their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

About the event

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