DOE Awarding up to $46MM for Geothermal Projects

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that its Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) Initiative at the University of Utah has selected 17 projects to receive up to $46 million in funding.

A full list of the project categories and entities chosen to move forward into award negotiations can be seen below:

Devices suitable for sectional (zonal) isolation along both cased and open-hole wellbores under geothermal conditions

• Welltec / Katy, TX
• PetroQuip Energy Services, LLC / Waller, TX
• Colorado School of Mines / Golden, CO

Estimation of stress parameters

• Battelle Memorial Institute / Columbus, OH
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory / Livermore, CA
• The University of Oklahoma / Norman, OK

Field-scale characterization of reservoir stimulation and evolution over time, including thermal, hydrological mechanical, and chemical (THMC) effects

• Clemson University / Clemson, SC
• Stanford University / Stanford, CA
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory / Berkeley, CA
• Rice University / Houston, TX

Stimulation and configuration of the well(s) at Utah FORGE

• Fervo Energy / Houston, TX
• The University of Texas at Austin / Austin, TX

Integrated laboratory and modeling studies of the interactions among THMC processes

• Pennsylvania State University / State College, PA
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory / Livermore, CA
• U.S. Geological Survey / Denver, CO
• The University of Oklahoma / Norman, OK
• Purdue University / West Lafayette, IN

“There is enormous untapped potential for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) to provide clean and reliable electricity to power tens of millions of homes across the country,” Kathleen Hogan, the acting under secretary for Science and Energy, said in a DOE statement.

“These investments in EGS research support President Biden’s mission to take on the climate crisis by pushing the frontiers of science and engineering and creating jobs in cutting-edge clean energy fields,” Hogan added.

EGS are different from conventional geothermal resources that occur naturally in the U.S. and are geographically limited due to the need for underground heat and fluids, the DOE highlights, adding that they are manmade geothermal reservoirs and can be engineered in most parts of the country.

The FORGE Initiative began with the selection of five projects in 2015, with the Utah FORGE site and team announced in 2018. Utah FORGE is a laboratory where scientists and researchers learn how to engineer EGS systems and is the first dedicated field site of its kind.

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