DeepU - Deep U-tube heat exchanger breakthrough: combining laser and cryogenic gas for geothermal energy exploitation

Start Date 01/03/2022 - End Date 28/02/2025
Increasing the accessibility of deep geothermal resources for low-carbon heating and power generation is a fundamental requirement to accelerate the development of decarbonised and indigenous energy supplies in Europe.
The DeepU Project seeks to achieve the deployment of ‘geothermal anywhere’ and to provide stable, uninterrupted, base load energy to meet global CO2 emission reduction targets. The disruptive technology envisioned in the project will revolutionise the deep geothermal energy sector, offering a complementary approach and an alternative solution to traditional energy storage and production, decentralising the power supply also in areas where this is currently deemed uneconomic.
The ultimate goal is to extract energy from the underground using deep (>4 km) vitrified, waterproof, non-cracked U-tube heat exchanger by combining laser and cryogenic gas into a single technological drilling solution. This innovative technology liquefies and vitrifies the rocks, leaving the borehole ready for heat exchange immediately after drilling. In addition, the demonstration at the laboratory scale produces the information required for assessing the technological, environmental and economic sustainability and defining the potential and commercial attractiveness of the proposed solution.
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The project DeepU has received funding from the European Union's Pathfinder Program (grant agreement no. 101046937)