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U.S. Department of Energy Announces $31M for Projects to Improve Wellbore Construction and Advance Thermal Energy Storage
The five projects selected to reduce the cost of constructing EGS wellbores can help the nation realize the potential of EGS to provide at least 90 gigawatts of clean, cost-effective electricity nationwide by 2050. The RTES demonstration project will leverage the unique capabilities of thermal storage and illustrate the technology’s capabilities to decarbonize the industrial sector.
Wellbore Construction
 Selected Wellbore Construction Projects:
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Clemson University (Clemson, SC): Will develop an AI-enabled, photoacoustic imaging tool for high-temperature and high-pressure well logging to assess geothermal well integrity without active cooling.
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Innovative Downhole Solutions, Inc. (Houston, TX): Will develop a durable ultrasonic measurement tool capable of operating for 24 hours in high-temperature geothermal environments to assess wellbore construction materials and practices.
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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley, CA): Will develop a tool for geothermal borehole integrity evaluation, designed to assess wellbore integrity in extreme conditions without the need for downhole electronics.
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Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, NM): Will develop a high-resolution acoustics-based tool to provide high-fidelity data for evaluating EGS components under extreme conditions.
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Schlumberger Technology Corporation (Houston, TX): Will develop a wireline tractor-conveyed system for long-term integrity modeling of cement and casing.
RTES
 Selected RTES Demonstration Project:
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Project Development Solutions, Inc. (Bakersfield, CA): Will pilot an RTES demonstration project at Kern Front Oil Field in Bakersfield, pairing subsurface geothermal reservoirs with a steam system and process heat off-taker.
Learn more about DOE’s EGS and low temperature geothermal research.
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