About the 2025 Forum

At COP29 58 countries nations joined forces to commit to the Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge. This ambitious target: 1,500 GW of energy storage, doubling grid investments, and 25M km of new grid infrastructure by 2030, sets a clear path toward a resilient, connected, and clean energy future. By 2030, wind and solar power are set to overtake gas and coal as the main source of electricity. While this is welcome, to be efficient, systems must find ways of storing the excess energy when the variable supply exceeds demand. Despite Pumped Storage providing around 90% of global long duration energy storage capacity, and having relatively small environmental footprints, there is little public awareness or understanding of what Pumped Storage is and why it is so essential to the energy transition.

In 2025, the International Forum on Pumped Storage Hydropower will be the culmination of a year-long campaign on pumped storage to accelerate action on the unsung hero of the energy transition. The government-led Forum will include a two-day global event at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 9-10 September. This event will bring world leaders and experts together to develop the policies and practices needed to unlock the development of this essential technology.

Welcoming Heads of State, Ministers, CEOs, banks, Intergovernmental Organisations, and other key industry stakeholders from around the world this must attend event is the route to resolving how the world will achieve 1,500 GW of storage capacity by 2030.