VGB PowerTech | Hydro - Hydropower Industry Guide 2020/21

HYDROPOWER INDUSTRY GUIDE 2020/21
Hydropower Sector Information
Digitalization Barometer Tool for Hydropower Operators
The digital transformation is an ongoing process in many different areas where established business models and
processes are substantially changed through new concepts, methods and models such as industry 4.0, machine
learning, cyber-physical systems, internet of things, data mining and internet of services. Digitalization will also
effect maintenance and operation of hydropower plants with an unexploited potential for reducing costs as well
as for increasing the effectiveness of workforce management.
Introduction
Apart from decarbonization and decentralization,
digitalization is one of the driving forces of
the energy transition. Digitalization is also a key
challenge for hydropower operators, especially
in the context of increased pressure on costs, riskbased
and preventive maintenance strategies and
increasing flexibility requirements. Therefore,
companies are more or less intensively involved
in a variety of digitalization issues and are facing
different challenges including:
• Which digitalization strategy can be pursued
and which degree of digitalization can
be achieved within the company in individual
fields of action?
• Which products, tools and apps can be
used in digital transformation?
• Can digitalization measures reduce operating
costs?
• Which cognitive methods and self-learning
algorithms can be used for the analysis?
• Which possibilities arise with the advanced
use of data?
Digitalization Barometer Tool
To actively support hydropower operators in
advancing and achieving digital transformation,
VGB PowerTech | Hydro and its members have
developed a digitalization self-check, the “Digitalization
Barometer Tool for Hydropower Operators”.
The tool allows companies to evaluate
(i) their current status of digitalization and
(ii) their intended target status in digitalization in
three years in comparison to the sector average.
Thus, the companies can gain a comprehensive
insight into their digitalization degree.
In addition, while operators can find out which
activities are possible in individual fields of action,
the whole industry may also gain insights to
which goals are sought in individual fields of
action.
Methodology
The “Digitalization Barometer Tool for Hydropower
Operators” is based on five different areas
of activity (main fields A-E), which in turn contain
numerous sub-action fields (see figure 1). Each
sub-action field is classified by different assessment
activities with a scale from 0 (no to low
digitalization) to 5 (digitalization very advanced).
These are weighted by percentage to determine
the degree of digitalization in the respective field
of action (see figure 2). For each sub-action field,
both the current status and the target status in
three years are to be evaluated. Additional comments,
justifications or remarks for the evaluation
can be made in the section “Reasoning”. Additionally,
the “Digitalization Barometer Tool for
Hydropower Operators” comprehensively
demonstrates relevant options for measures and
points to the extent to which individual sub-action
fields are the focus of their implementation in the
digitalization strategy.
The underlying algorithm follows formulas 1 and
2 (current status (CS) and target status in three
years (TS)). With the total points of the status (u),
the assessment (x), the weighting of the sub-action
field (wi [%]) and the number of sub-action fields
(i).
u x , . w
Formula 1: Calculation of the total points for current status
within a main field.
Innovative Products and Services 11