Impressed current cathodic protection is one of the most effective methods for preventing corrosion in steel pipelines and is widely implemented in water

oil

and gas industries. However

supplying the electrical energy required for impressed current cathodic protection systems becomes challenging and often economically impractical when pipelines extend into remote areas. To address this issue

this paper proposes a practical energy-harvesting approach in which the kinetic energy of flowing water inside the pipeline is converted into electrical power using a fluid-driven generator. A compact half-bridge buck converter regulates the output voltage to deliver a stable cathodic protection current while keeping the hardware structure simple

improving reliability

and enabling straightforward integration into existing pipeline infrastructure without major modifications. A detailed electrical model of a 5 km pipeline is developed to evaluate system performance

incorporating variations in flow rate

soil resistivity

and coating degradation. The generator uses a 1 kW automotive alternator (nominal ∼24–28 V

max current ≈55 A) coupled with a hydro turbine to efficiently harvest the available hydraulic energy. Simulation results show that despite the simplified hardware design

the proposed system maintains the pipeline endpoint potential ≤ −0.85 V (Cu/CuSO4 reference) under varying operational conditions. The system also demonstrates robust energy management

balancing power between generation

battery storage

and cathodic protection load. Compared with conventional impressed current cathodic protection systems relying on external grids or solar/hybrid sources

this approach provides a fully self-powered

low-cost

and easily deployable alternative. By combining simplicity

effective cathodic protection performance

and independence from external power

the proposed solution offers a highly practical strategy for corrosion protection of remote pipelines.