The work is relevant for the Sustainable Development Goals “LIFE BELOW WATER” category because as hydropower development continues along rivers around the world, helping migratory fish to come back to their natural environments has become urgent; this means making a creative transformation of the hydroelectric business, turning it more biodiversity-friendly. Fortum decided to develop and apply innovative sustainable solutions that are outside their usual domain in the energy sector and strengthen its positioning as the most sustainable energy company in Finland.

Finland is said to be the country of a thousand lakes, it's also the country with the most bodies of water in the world, its freshwater areas cover 33,000 km2, accounting for 10% of the country's surface area, 31,119 km of coastline, 82,000 km2 of sea, and 647 rivers. Throughout history, communities have been built by those rivers, since they have provided food and energy for the developing nation. Hydropower is by far the largest renewable worldwide, producing over twice as much energy as wind, and over four times as much as solar. Sadly, rivers and other ecosystems that provide essential habitats to freshwater fish are under increasing pressure from global hydropower development. While dams can provide flood protection, energy supply, and water security, they also pose a significant threat to freshwater species. Dams block fish from moving along their natural pathways between feeding and spawning grounds, causing interruptions in their life cycles that limit their abilities to reproduce. As hydropower development continues along river basins around the world, helping migratory fish to come back to their natural environments has become urgent.

The project (and our overall biodiversity-related measures) are aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals SDG 14. "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development" and SDG 15. "Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss". As one of the most sustainable energy companies in Europe, Fortum looks to reduce its environmental impact wherever it can. Hydropower is one of the key renewable energy sources in the Nordics, and Fortum operates around 150 hydropower plants in Finland and Sweden altogether. Since it was created in 1878, hydroenergy has been by far the largest renewable energy source worldwide. Although it provides low-carbon, clean, eco-friendly electricity, the hydropower dams prevent thousands of fish from returning home every year. A problem which has been unsolved for almost two centuries. This creates a conflict for Fortum, for which they are also criticized by the public and in the media. Therefore, they need to find solutions that help them make existing renewable energy sources even more sustainable by enhancing their impact on biodiversity. We wanted the public to recognize hydropower as an eco-friendly way to produce energy.

Since it was created in 1878, hydroenergy has been by far the largest renewable energy source worldwide. Although it provides low-carbon, clean, eco-friendly electricity, the hydropower dams prevent thousands of fish from returning home every year. A problem which has been unsolved for almost two centuries. This creates a conflict for Fortum, for which they are also criticized by the public and in the media. Therefore, they need to find solutions that help them make existing renewable energy sources even more sustainable by enhancing their impact on biodiversity. We wanted businesses, media, and the public to recognize hydropower as an eco-friendly way to produce energy.

Fortum has been seen by the public as a distant corporation, even though its services are used everywhere. However, their services are not very tangible or visible and are even taken for granted. They are needed even more since the energy demand is rising. It is in their communications target to show to the greater public how they create value even beyond energy. Since fish have somewhat symbolic value in our society and opposing dams get a lot of media coverage, we aimed to find a way to get positive attention to hydropower by showing that it is not a threat to fish’ living environment and a threat to biodiversity in general. We needed a real tangible solution to show what we do, as opposed to just traditional communications campaigns. Fortum strengthened its positioning as the most sustainable energy company in Finland, by transforming the hydroelectric business using biometric data.

IDEA: A floating hydraulic fishway that uses biometric data collection to identify and enable fish to migrate by bypassing dams, traveling safely up river streams to their natural spawning waters.

STRATEGY: Dams block fish from moving along their natural pathways between feeding and spawning grounds. To successfully allow migratory fish to bypass the dam, it was necessary to recognize and differentiate the species that are migratory from the ones that aren't.

DATA GATHERING:

1. Attraction Flow: The device produces an attraction flow that helps fish find their way up the river.

2. Smart Detection: AI detects fish and collects real-time biometric data of the migration.

3. Elevation: Fish are propelled upstream over the dam unharmed, even longer distances and steep ascents.

PRIMARY TARGET GROUP: Businesses, companies, and investors interested in sustainable-generated energy. By restoring the ecosystems affected by human alteration, we created a sustainable solution to preserve the European migratory fish, materializing new B2B leads and helping fishing communities at the same time.

SECONDARY TARGET GROUP: General public, positioning Fortum as a company where people, businesses, and nature live together.

THIS IS HOW IT WORKS:

1. Attraction Flow: The device produces an additional attraction flow that helps fish find their way up the river.

2. Smart Detection: AI detects fish and collects real-time data and photos of the migration.

3. Elevation: In the tube, fish are propelled upstream over the hydropower plant unharmed, even longer distances and steep ascents.

A smart detection process collects the migration data in real-time. If the specimen does not belong to migratory species, the tunnel sends the fish back. If the specimen is a migratory fish, the underwater tunnel propels it safely and unharmed, to the other side of the dam.

TIMELINE AND PLACEMENT:

Floating Platform Development

Jan 2022

Leppikoski Hydropower Plant equipped with the Floating Platform

30/08/2022

Launch of Social Media Campaign on Facebook, Instagram

01/07/2023

World Energy Council Documentary

BBC Story Works productions, YouTube

05/09/2023

Over 13,300 fish are transferred per year.

22 species preserved in Finland.

Giving a second chance for Oulujärvi lake trout, an endangered species.

Restoration of the habitats and breeding grounds of the lake trout across the Seitenoikea hydropower plant located upstream of the Leppikoski power plant.

US Department of Energy grants 1,3 million USD in funding for FishHeart.

The perception of hydropower as an eco-friendly solution to generate energy has improved by 30% in Finland.

We saw an increase also in the B2B demand for hydropower which rose by 15%.

To be adopted in 20 countries in 2024.

Patent active in 16 countries, patent I process in 38 more countries.

The Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) is conducting a study on the size of the lake trout population that is migrating upstream towards the power plant and the effectiveness of the water highway.

Restoration of the habitats and breeding grounds of the lake trout across the Seitenoikea hydropower plant located upstream of the Leppikoski power plant.

Fortum showed an example to other energy companies, while the FishHeart technology is being implemented by them in even more rivers. This is true value beyond energy – beyond company silos.

Fortum's brand purpose is "to power a world where people, businesses, and nature thrive together, helping societies to reach carbon neutrality in balance with nature". That's why restoring the ecosystems affected by the dams was necessary, bringing technological innovations to provide migratory fish access to their natural spawning grounds. Besides that, the project restores biodiversity and helps support local fishing communities. Studies have been carried out on over 10,000 fish species to measure the impact of dams on their habitats, evaluating around 40,000 existing and 3,700 planned hydropower dams. FortumFishHeart solves a 200-year-old challenge and allows fish to pass by across dams and move up the river stream. The scale of the project was to implement the solution on the Leppikoski Hydropower Plant, then in multiple hydro plans across Finland, and then, across the rest of Europe.