A thick, slanted Restoration Hydro Turbine runner is shown installed in a runner housing.

FishSafe™️ engineering by Natel, manufacturing by trusted industry partners.

High-Performance, FishSafe™

Restoration Hydro Turbine (RHT) runners can be applied to large and small hydropower plants up to 40 m (130 ft) hydraulic head, with no limit on runner diameter. Available for custom retrofits or new build, RHT designs improve environmental outcomes and reduce costs with no tradeoffs.

High performance
Natel’s runner designs combine safe through-turbine fish passage with resistance to cavitation and >90% peak hydraulic efficiency. Natel rigorously tests design performance at our IEC 60193-compliant hydraulic test facility. Performance tests measure flow, pressure, torque, and speed of scale-model turbines and are conducted to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers PTC-18 standard.
Safe through-turbine fish passage
Natel’s patented FishSafe™  Restoration Hydro Turbine (RHT)  runner designs feature thick, forward-swept blades that allow fish to pass safely downstream through the turbine. This unique shape is informed by laboratory blade strike studies, CFD modeling, and numerous fish passage tests
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Retrofit Ready
By enabling safe fish passage at the same speed and power point as conventional turbines, RHT designs allow for straightforward equipment replacements with little to no change in civil works or generator specifications.
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High Economic Value
FishSafe™ turbines offer many economic advantages over conventional turbines with traditional fish passage measures:

Lower Cost
Install FishSafe™ RHTs for ~50% CapEx to install fine screening and bypass fishways.

Low Maintenance
RHTs eliminate the need to clean and maintain fine screens and reduce the frequency of runner repair or replacement due to abrasion.

Increased generation
Up to 10% more power generation with FishSafe™ RHTs
due to avoided bypass flow and screening head losses. No shutdowns during migration season. Plants maintain operational flexibility.
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Broadly applicable
FishSafe™ runner designs span a wide operating range. Working with established manufacturing partners, Natel can provide FishSafe™ propeller, Kaplan, or Francis-style RHT runners or turbines of any diameter for sites up to 40 m (130 ft) in head. Learn more about our highly-regarded turbine manufacturing partners.
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Abrasion resistant
The same principles that guide the fish safety of Natel’s runner designs also reduce blade erosion. Tests following the IEC Standard 62364 showed that the unique blade shape that characterizes RHT designs demonstrated high resistance to abrasion. The testing found that the thickness of RHT blades produced a stagnation effect on sediment slurry while the blade sweep also decreased the contact velocity of sediment impacting the runner. The outcome of these effects resulted in six times less material loss on an RHT-style blade sample as compared to a conventional propeller blade.

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