Early 1980s

Motivated to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, inventor Dan Schneider works with friends from Texas A&M to find new ways to generate renewable energy, inspiring his children, Gia and Abe, at a young age.

Early 1990s

As teens, siblings Gia and Abe discover
the positive ecological benefit beaver dams can have on river health.

2009

Gia Schneider and Abe Schneider co-found Natel Energy, supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

2010

Buckeye pilot project features Natel`s first-generation hydro turbine.

2011

Natel conducts first hydrologic tests at Alden Research Laboratory.

2013

Natel commissions on-site hydraulic test facility.

2015

Natel commissions first commercial project for Apple.

2016

Natel commissions second commercial
project using second-generation turbine.

Natel acquires Upstream Tech, author of HydroForecast watershed intelligence software.

2019

Natel unveils the first FishSafe™ Restoration Hydro Turbine (RHT).

2019

Natel installs the first RHT at The Mill at Freedom Falls in Freedom, Maine.

March 2020

Natel announces $11M funding close with
Schneider Electric Ventures and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Fall 2020

Natel commissions Monroe Hydropower Project in Madras, Oregon, utilizing a utility-scale FishSafe™ RHT.

Fall 2020

Natel and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL) conduct RHT passage tests with rainbow trout; results show 100% immediate and 48-hour survival for through-turbine passage.

JULY 2021

Natel announces $20M Series B funding with
Breakthrough Energy Ventures to continue growing modern hydropower.

JUNE 2022

Natel and PNNL conduct turbine passage tests with large adult rainbow trout, resulting in >99% safe passage of some of the largest fish ever successfully passed through a compact hydro turbine.

August 2022

The scientific journal Transactions of the American Fisheries Society publishes Natel`s peer-reviewed study conducted with PNNL; results show 100% immediate and 48-hour survival.

OCTOBER 2022

Austrian utility Energie Steiermark opens the Sauerbrunn Hydro Project, featuring the first fully-submersible RHT and the first RHT to operate in Europe.

OCTOBER 2022

Natel and MyHydro announce, at the US-Africa Business Forum, their contract to install FishSafe™ RHTs in the first of 33 potential projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

March 2023

North American Journal of Fisheries Management publishes a peer-reviewed study by Natel and Kleinschmidt Associates; results show 98-100% survival of juvenile alewife passing through a 55cm-diameter RHT, measured immediately and after 48 hours.

June 2023

RHT design envelope expands to 40 m (130 ft) head & >99 m^3/s (>3500 cfs) flow, meeting needs of 50% of hydro fleet

hydroEngine Technical Summary - Brochure