Research engineer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Paul Woskov, has spent 14 years developing a method that can bring an abandoned coal power plant back online that is carbon-free.
(Photo : INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images) Electricity pylons are seen in front OF the cooling towers of the coal-fired power station of German energy giant RWE in Weisweiler, western Germany, on January 26, 2021.
Gyrotron is a microwave-emitting device that Quaise's drilling systems will focus on. Quaise Energy will commercialize the device and has set an ambitious goal of harnessing energy from a pilot well by 2026.
The idea behind the gyrotron beams to vaporize rock was when Woskov used them in nuclear fusion experiments for years. He conducted tests wherein he blasted small rock formations with waves from a small gyrotron in MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center.
That's when Quaise entered the picture. Their gyrotron-powered drilling platform can vaporize boreholes through rock. This will allow access to deep geothermal heat without the need for downhole equipment.
The device is scheduled to be completed before the end of 2022, and the team at Quaise aims to evaporate a hole ten times the depths of Woskov's lab trials with a bigger machine.
Their team will then evaporate a hole ten times the depth of the previous one, which is referred to as a 100-to-1hole. Quaise aims to start vaporizing oak in field tests late next year and extract energy from pilot geothermal wells by 2026. Furthermore, the way to begin repurposing coal and natural gas plants with the technology.
Since the gyrotrons are now commercialized, everything will go fast as long as the beam sources haven't been used 24/7. In a couple of years, there will likely be a plant running if these engineering problems are solved.
When Quaise makes a millimeter-wave drilling equipment compatible with the worldwide fleet of drilling rigs, it can tap into the global workforce of the oil and gas industry.
Also Read: Geothermal System Could Power 10 Million Homes: Only 2.1x2.1 Meters in Size
The Deepest Holes for Power Generation
Huge amounts of energy are located in Earth's upper crust. These are the places where temperatures are exceedingly high, and geothermal is a better source of power. But to harness this, you need to drill really deep. In fact, to get the kind of power that you will need, you will need to drill as deep as 10 kilometers. This is almost as deep as the atomic structure of the crust.
These are the breakthroughs that will enable clean power to replace our burning of fossil fuels. If a major environmental disaster is on the way, it is crucial for us to get our hands on as many clean energy resources as possible.
What makes the potential of geothermal energy seemingly endless are the tectonic plates at the core of the Earth. These provide a constant supply of heat. That is an enormous amount of energy that is untapped despite the fact that we have used other renewable energy sources for over a century.
Related Article: Researchers Stumble Upon Potentially New Energy Source While Drilling Into An Earthquake Fault
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Written by April Fowell
