PNNL helping make hydropower cheaper, more fish-friendly

Lab to evaluate Whooshh Fish Transport System, a.k.a. Salmon Cannon™

August 18, 2016

• Frances White, PNNL, (509) 375-6904

RICHLAND, Wash. - Enabling fish to migrate past dams could cost a fraction of conventional fish ladders with the help of a new study of the so-called Salmon Cannon, which transports fish through a flexible tube that works by creating a small difference in pressure across fish. The pressure difference helps gently move fish through the tube.

The D.O.E.'s Pacific Northwest National Lab will evaluate Seattle-based Whooshh Innovations' technology, officially known as the Whooshh Fish Transport System, with a $300,000 grant from DOE's Small Business Vouchers Pilot. The company will provide PNNL an additional $60,000 in in-kind support for the study.

PNNL fisheries biologist Alison Colotelo and her colleagues will compare the performance of the Whooshh system and fish ladders to move Pacific Coast salmon around barriers in the Columbia River. The results could help the technology obtain federal approval to transport Endangered Species Act-listed Pacific salmon around dams.

This is the 4th plan PNNL has been awarded under Small Business Vouchers, which enables small clean energy firms gain technology assistance from DOE's national Lab system. PNNL is among 5 national labs leading the pilot and is specifically supporting small businesses in 3 areas: bioenergy, water power and buildings.

See today's D.O.E. announcement for more information on the Small Business Vouchers program. The full list of all 43 of the winning plans announced today is accessible on the Small Business Vouchers Pilot website.

Pacific Northwest National Lab will build on earlier research to evaluate the performance of Whooshh Innovation's so-called Salmon Cannon, which transports fish through a flexible, pressurized tube.

Tags: Energy, Environment, Fundamental Science, Hydropower, Green Energy, Biology, Fish

Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Lab address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,400 staff and has an yearly budget of nearly $1 billion. It is managed by Battelle for the D.O.E.'s Office of Science. As the single biggest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on PNNL, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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