Geothermal energy has been used for thousands of years, powering heating systems as early as the 14th century. It’s getting a big upgrade.
Beyond geothermal, there’s superhot geothermal, which uses ultra-deep drilling to access extremely hot rocks, extracting 5 to 10 times more power per well.
Quaise Energy, a Massachusetts-based startup, is in the market developing the technology, which involves an electromagnetic beam that vaporizes rock. The company’s systems are able to reach superhot geothermal energy up to 12 miles below the service of the earth.
Temperatures that deep can reach 500 degrees Celsius, or over 930 degrees Fahrenheit.
“To access the resource at a scale that actually matters, we have to drill hotter first and deeper second,” said Carlos Araque, CEO of Quaise. “The oil industry routinely drills to depths of 2 to 3 miles, and maybe no more than 150 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. We need to double or triple that to actually start to get the right resource.”
