Quaise, Inc was founded in 2018 to develop a

millimeter-wave Extremely high frequency (EHF) is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) designation for the band of radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 to 300 gigahertz (GHz). It lies between the super high frequency band and the ...

drilling system for converting existing power stations to use superdeep

geothermal energy Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth's crust which originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal proportions. The high temperature and pres ...

. The system repurposes existing

gyrotron High-power 140 GHz gyrotron for plasma heating in the Wendelstein 7-X fusion experiment, Germany. A gyrotron is a class of high-power linear-beam vacuum tubes that generates millimeter-wave electromagnetic waves by the cyclotron resonance of ele ...

technology to drill 20 kilometers beneath the surface, where temperatures exceed 400 °C. No fracking is required, avoiding the potential for earthquakes that have occurred in other geothermal systems. Drilling using this technique is hoped to be fast, with boreholes aimed to be completed in 100 days using existing 1MW gyrotrons.

Overview

Existing

geothermal power Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 2 ...

stations can only be deployed in rare locations where adequate heat is located within 3 km of the surface. These resources are of a comparatively low temperature, and require seismically risky

stimulation Stimulation is the encouragement of development or the cause of activity generally. For example, "The press provides stimulation of political discourse." An interesting or fun activity can be described as "stimulating", regardless of its physica ...

techniques. Further, drilling at these depths is expensive and slow. Instead, Quaise plans to drill quickly to deep depths using a gyrotron and

waveguide A waveguide is a structure that guides waves, such as electromagnetic waves or sound, with minimal loss of energy by restricting the transmission of energy to one direction. Without the physical constraint of a waveguide, wave intensities de ...

, vaporizing the rock by heating it. Temperatures at 20 km depth are above the supercritical point of water, which allows ten times more energy to be transferred given the same volumetric flow. The supercritical water is then used in a

supercritical steam generator A supercritical steam generator is a type of boiler that operates at supercritical pressure, frequently used in the production of electric power. In contrast to a subcritical boiler in which bubbles can form, a supercritical steam generator op ...

which may previously have been powered with

fossil fuels A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ...

Comparison with other power sources

The approach proposes advantages compared with other power sources: * Constant 24-hour generation - Maximum output always available. Does not require storage. Wind and Solar are intermittent generators. * Small land footprint - Consumes less than 1% of the land area of wind or solar for the same maximum output.

Status

In October 2021, Quaise began initial testing of gyrotron boring at

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research and ...

and plans to have a full-scale gyrotron drilling rig completed by 2024. By 2026, the company hopes to have achieved 100MW of geothermal power output. By 2028, Quaise aims to have converted an existing fossil-fuelled power plant to run on geothermal steam.

References

{{Reflist Geothermal energy Drilling technology Geothermal drilling

Overview

Comparison with other power sources

Status

See also

References