Researchers in the geothermal energy industry are collaborating with fusion experts at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to repurpose gyrotron technology, an instrument used in fusion. The gyrotron generates high-powered microwaves to heat fusion plasmas.
“If we succeed, this technology will allow power plants across the United States in any geographic region to generate electricity using geothermal steam, a clean, carbon-free source of energy,” said Tim Bigelow. , a scientist with ORNL’s Unified Technologies group said. “Currently, geothermal energy is not widely used because it is not cost-effective in most areas where conventional drilling methods are used.”
Gyrotron technology could change that.
“We looked to ORNL as a partner to develop this technology because of the gyrotron equipment and expertise from fusion research, two things,” said Matthew Houde, co-founder of geothermal energy company. that our company needed to take experiments to the next level. Increase energy.
Geothermal energy originates in the Earth’s crust, the outermost crust of the planet, which is between 4 and 40 thick, depending on location. Some of the heat in the crust is generated by the decay of radioactive materials, while some is left over from the planet’s formation 4.5 billion years ago.
To capture this energy, engineers drill wells and pump water down to extract the steam generated from the heat and then convert it into electrical energy. In the United States, the most accessible geothermal energy reservoirs are in the West, where heat can be easily accessed at shallow depths. But in other areas, geothermal energy is only accessible about 12 miles below the surface, where conventional drills can’t.
To solve this problem, Quaise focused on the gyrotron, a device that converts energy from an electron beam into a type of electromagnetic wave called a millimeter wave. This is a close cousin of the microwave that powers home microwaves.
Quaise is commercializing a gyrotron-assisted technique called the Millimeter-Wave Drilling System — invented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Plasma Science and Fusion — to drill deeper and at high underground temperatures. than, can wear down conventional drill bits faster at shallower depths.
The company’s ultimate goal is to enable the conversion of existing fossil fuel-powered power plants to run on carbon-free geothermal energy, thereby reducing emissions.
The DOE Advanced Research Projects-Energy Agency is funding the project. By working with ORNL fusion experts, Quaise will address technical challenges – such as discharges – that need to be addressed before the technology can be deployed.
The research will also help advance fusion research.
“Ultimately, there will be a feedback loop as we apply what we learn from developing this geothermal energy technology to our fusion energy research,” said Bigelow. “In essence, we are at the forefront of two paths towards the same goal of carbon-free energy.”
Source: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
