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Quaise, Inc was founded in 2018 to develop a millimeter-wave drilling system for converting existing power stations to use superdeep geothermal energy.[1] The system would repurpose existing gyrotron technology to drill 20 kilometers beneath the surface, where temperatures exceed 400°C. No fracking would be required, avoiding the potential for earthquakes that have occurred in other geothermal systems.[2][3] Drilling using this technique is hoped to be fast, with boreholes aimed to be completed in 100 days[4] using existing 1MW gyrotrons.
| Industry | Geothermal Power |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founder | Carlos Araque, Matt Houde, Aaron Mandell |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, Massachusetts , |
Key people | Carlos Araque Chief Executive Officer |
| Products | Millimeter-wave drilling |
Number of employees | 20+ |
| Website | quaise |
Overview
editExisting geothermal power stations can only be deployed in rare locations where adequate heat is located within 3km of the surface.[5] These resources are of a comparatively low temperature, and require seismically risky stimulation techniques. Further, drilling at these depths is expensive and slow.[citation needed]
Instead, Quaise plans to drill quickly to deep depths using a gyrotron and waveguide, vaporizing the rock by heating it.[6]Temperatures at 20km depth are above the supercritical point of water, which allows ten times more energy to be transferred given the same volumetric flow.[7] The supercritical water is then used in a supercritical steam generator which may previously have been powered with fossil fuels.[citation needed]
Comparison with other power sources
editThe 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.[citation needed]
- Small land footprint – Consumes less than 1% of the land area of wind or solar for the same maximum output.[8]
Status
editIn October 2021, Quaise began initial testing of gyrotron boring at Oak Ridge National Laboratory[9] and plans to have a full-scale gyrotron drilling rig completed by 2024.[10] By 2026, the company hopes to have achieved 100MW of geothermal power output.[11] By 2028, Quaise aims to have converted an existing fossil-fueled power plant to run on geothermal steam.[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Quaise Launches with $6 Million to Unlock Earth's Most Abundant Clean Energy Source". Business Wire. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ "The Interchange Recharged podcast: Quaise Energy digs deep – into the world of geothermal | Wood Mackenzie". woodmac.com. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ "Quaise's ultra-deep geothermal drilling plans: Your questions answered". newatlas.com. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ "Fusion tech is set to unlock near-limitless ultra-deep geothermal energy". newatlas.com. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ Fridleifsson, Ingvar (2008). "The possible role and contribution of geothermal energy to the mitigation of climate change". IPCC Scoping Meeting on Renewable Energy Sources, Proceedings: Vol. 20, No. 25, pp. 59–80. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.362.1202.
- ^ https://www.energymonitor.ai/tech/geothermal-can-provide-half-the-worlds-energy-quaise-energy-ceo
- ^ Shnell, Jim; Elders, Wilfred (2019). "Exploration And Development Of Supercritical Geothermal Resources On The Ocean Floor" (PDF). PROCEEDINGS, 44th Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering: 3.
- ^ "Fusion tech is set to unlock near-limitless ultra-deep geothermal energy". newatlas.com. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ "Geothermal - Quaise Begins Testing of Potentially Disruptive Geothermal Drilling Technology - Renewable Energy Magazine, at the heart of clean energy journalism". renewableenergymagazine.com. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ "Quaise Energy". quaise.energy. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ "Energy from the earth, for the earth | MIT Technology Review". technologyreview.com. Retrieved 2022-03-18.