Faced with growing needs for energy (2 billions of people without electricity in the world) and threats of the environment (local pollutions and risks of climatic change), the world is longing for an energy supply compatible with sustainable development.

Hydropower can satisfy this requirement : it already supplies 18 % of the world power generation ; its economically feasibility is huge, especially in the developing countries which need the most energy ; its environmental impacts are low and more and more mastered by technological improvements.

In Grenoble, where was born the technology of hydropower, manufacturers, consultants and academics have created Hydro 21 in order to promote hydropower, to support training capacity and to develop the research in a perspective of sustainable development.