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Scientists are exploring a revolutionary rock energy source with energy potential so great it could power the United States thousands of times over
For decades, the energy source geothermal remained a supporting player in the renewable energy landscape. While solar and wind power grew exponentially, geothermal contributed a tiny fraction of the electricity overall.
The problem has always been geography. Underground heat sources are concentrated in volcanic regions, limiting their expansion. But that may be about to change.
Researchers at Cornell University believe that (SHR) Superhot Rock Energy) could be the solution to harnessing the Earth's heat practically anywhere.
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The warmth beneath our feet
The idea is simple but revolutionary. Imagine drilling deep into the Earth's crust until you find rocks heated to over 374 degrees Celsius.
At these extreme temperatures, the injected water turns into a supercritical fluid, capable of transporting immense amounts of energy to the surface.
This energy source can be converted into electricity, provide heating or even be used to produce hydrogen.
How does the process of this incredible energy source work?
Water or specialized fluids are injected into superhot rock reservoirs, where, due to the extremely high temperatures, the fluid transforms into a supercritical state, an intermediate phase between liquid and gas that has a high density and a great capacity to store thermal energy.
This supercritical fluid is then extracted and taken to the surface, where its thermal energy is used to drive turbines, generating electricity in an efficient and sustainable way.
According to a Cornell, SHR could meet the energy demand of the United States thousands of times over.
Reports prepared by the university, in collaboration with the nonprofit Clean Air Task Force (CATF), detail a roadmap for overcoming technical challenges such as precision drilling, well construction and heat extraction.
"The highly site-specific aspects of geothermal energy production have always been an obstacle to commercial development”, explains Seth Saltiel, a Cornell professor and co-author of the study. He emphasizes that understanding underground structures is essential to moving forward.
The numbers are staggering. Just 2 percent of the energy stored just a few miles below the surface could theoretically supply the energy needs of the United States 2.000 times over.
SHR also has the advantage of being a clean and uninterrupted source of energy, unlike solar and wind, which depend on weather conditions.
A global race for SHR
Interest in SHR is not limited to the United States. Studies indicate that China, Russia and the United States have the largest potential reserves of this energy. In the United States alone, SHR energy could generate 4 terawatts, equivalent to burning 21 billion barrels of oil.
States like Nevada and California lead the way in terms of exploration potential. Interestingly, the oil and gas industry could be a crucial ally. The necessary technologies—drilling rigs, rugged drill bits, and sensors capable of withstanding extreme temperatures—have already been developed for fossil fuel extraction.
Terra Rogers, Director of CATF, believes these companies are well positioned to lead the transition to SHR.
Lauren Boyd, director of the Geothermal Technologies Office at the U.S. Department of Energy, emphasizes the need for investment. “We need resources and hands willing to work in this field.” It is estimated that between $20 billion and $25 billion will be needed by 2030 to commercialize next-generation geothermal technologies, including SHR.
For oil companies, SHR represents a unique opportunity. They can reposition themselves in the clean energy market using existing infrastructure and capabilities.
Many lands leased for fuel extraction can also be repurposed for geothermal exploration, often without the need for new licenses.
Challenges and opportunities
While promising, the superhot rock energy source faces significant challenges. Drilling into dense rock is expensive and complex.
In 2022, Cornell University drilled a 3 km deep exploratory well on its campus, aiming to investigate the potential of geothermal energy.
However, this facility is unlikely to reach superheated rocks, as it would require drilling at least 10 km below the surface in regions with low thermal flow, such as the eastern United States.
Early projects require high investment and carry risks. Without substantial funding, SHR may remain an ambitious but unrealizable idea.
However, optimism grows. Jennifer Granholm, US Secretary of Energy, highlighted the potential of this technology during the 2024 CERAWeek conference. “Capturing the heat beneath our feet can provide us with clean, scalable and reliable energy to meet the needs of industries and homes.”, He stated.
SHR not only promises to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but also represents a new frontier for the energy industry.
If significant technological advances and investments are made, this technology could redefine how the world generates and consumes energy.
Underground heat, long ignored, could hold the key to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.
The race to unlock this potential is just beginning. Now it’s up to companies, governments and scientists to turn this vision into reality.
It remains to be seen whether drilling this deep layer will not have disastrous consequences.
Please update the article with some new information that I missed in the study. However, in addition to the difficulty of reaching this depth, there are clear risks to this energy source. Such as induced earthquakes, caused by drilling and injecting fluids underground, and the possible contamination of groundwater by toxic substances, such as arsenic and mercury.
About drilling, which is the biggest problem in itself, unless the American plasma drill startup works or something similar in the future, drilling at these depths is absurdly expensive, to the point that it would be more worthwhile to build multiple nuclear reactors instead of the geothermal plant, but if this startup's technology goes ahead it will lower the prices of cheap energy and speed up construction, being able to reuse buildings from deactivated coal plants by taking advantage of the previous infrastructure.
Unless we also do an analysis of the water tables, it will not be feasible to drill due to the problem of possibly poisoning the water tables with toxic minerals, but the difficulty is not that, but more in the drilling itself.
There is no problem with freshwater aquifers which are much shallower.
It is very difficult to drill kilometers below the exhausting heat of the drills.