Hardware Podcasts

Developing an Environmentally-Friendly and Fish-Saving Hydropower Turbine with Abe Schneider, Co-founder and CTO of Natel Energy

Hardware to Save a Planet · 15 Sept 2022 · 47m · Episode 9

What this episode covers

Abe Schneider, Co-founder and CTO of Natel Energy, explains how his company designs fish-safe hydropower turbines to mitigate the environmental impact of existing dams. He details the mechanical engineering behind their blade geometry—specifically thick, slanted leading edges—and the manufacturing challenges of producing utility-scale composite and metal blades. Schneider also discusses the regulatory drivers for adoption, the ecological importance of migratory fish like eels and salmon, and the potential for pumped storage hydropower.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Natel Energy, Timkin, McCaig, Google X, Upstream Tech, Natural Systems Design
Products
Kaplan turbines, Propeller turbines

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