Quaise Energy

A better way to remove deeply drilled rock: compressed air. Our millimeter wave drilling process cannot rely on conventional techniques like drilling mud to remove rock cuttings. Drilling mud interferes with our waveguide and the millimeter waves themselves. The solution is to circulate a purge gas, or compressed air, throughout the process. Gases such as nitrogen and argon are ideal to flush downhole, sweeping all the vaporized rock away from the drilling front and up to the surface for removal. The purge gas system allows us to use millimeter wave drilling at unprecedented depths, unlocking deep #geothermal energy to decarbonize civilization within a generation.

“Exciting finding: extreme heat & pressure can help create better enhanced geothermal systems [EGS],” says Peter Massie of the Cascade Institute, commenting on a recent publication in Nature Communications led by EPFL, with support from Quaise and others.   The resulting data are among the first to show that superdeep rock can form fractures that connect and make it more permeable. Until now, geologists were divided as to whether this was possible. It all means superhot geothermal could become “much more economic,” says Geoffrey Garrison, our VP of Operations. Elizabeth Thomson reports on the findings and what they mean for the future of #geothermal energy.   Dig Deeper ⬇️   - Rock under high pressures and temperatures—more than 375 C, or 707 F—is ductile, or gooey, as opposed to a smashable stone from your backyard - Superdeep fractured rock is 10x more permeable than cracked rock found much closer to the surface - Superhot geothermal can deliver 5-10x more power than typically produced today from EGS systems and do so for up to two decades https://lnkd.in/eMiZwm6q

In Japanese culture, kintsugi is the art of repair. Artists use golden lacquer to mend damaged pottery, infusing new purpose and meaning into old structures. The clean energy transition requires a similar mindset. In our October Insights, we take a deeper dive into fossil fuel infrastructure. A truly sustainable energy transition leverages existing resources to reduce waste and accelerate buildout. Geothermal is the kintsugi of renewable energy, it is the source most capable of transforming fossil fuel infrastructure for a clean energy future. Dig deeper ⬇️ - Around 80% of global energy still comes from fossil fuels - Wind and solar require a whole new landscape of infrastructure - About 200 wells have been drilled annually for geothermal energy worldwide - Whereas 20,000 wells have been drilled annually for oil and gas in the U.S. alone - The potential of drilling more wells for geothermal is enormous Read the full Insight: https://lnkd.in/erweVpCE

Oil and gas infrastructure is key to accelerating the clean energy transition. Scale and speed are paramount to reach net zero emissions by mid-century. The global oil and gas industry has a 150+ year head start and boasts the largest workforce in energy today. Geothermal is the only renewable energy source capable of leveraging it all for a sustainable future. Drilling for geothermal is remarkably similar to drilling for oil and gas. Our millimeter wave drilling system is designed to integrate with conventional oil and gas drilling rigs to create more geothermal power plants in less time. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel (or the rig). Similar infrastructure requires similar skills to do the job. We don’t need to build an extensive workforce from scratch; oil and gas workers can readily transfer their skills and subsurface expertise to geothermal. Talk about a win-win. Geothermal provides 24/7 clean energy for a reliable and sustainable future. Leveraging oil and gas infrastructure is how we accelerate the global buildout.

A truly sustainable energy transition uses less land, not more.   In our September Insights, we examine the global land squeeze predicted over the coming decades. Several competing priorities will vie for the same finite land, such as nature, agriculture, and urbanization. Energy infrastructure is a particular tipping point, and the choices we make about clean energy sources will ease or exacerbate the world's land budget.   Deep geothermal is one of the only clean energy sources capable of creating more power on less land, compared to other renewables such as solar and wind.   Dig deeper ⬇   - Half of all land on Earth is needed to protect biodiversity - We need an additional area twice the size of India to feed humanity by 2050 - Wind and solar need at least 10x more land per unit of power produced than coal or natural gas - Deep geothermal uses a fraction of the land of other energy sources   Read the full Insight: https://lnkd.in/g-xZBP6u

The Gyrotron Supply Unit (GSU) is the brain of millimeter wave (MMW) drilling. The GSU controls the flow of power to the whole site, particularly the gyrotron, and houses all the intelligence necessary to deliver the most efficient drilling operation. The GSU takes power from a utility connection or a portable generator and fine-tunes it to individual Goldilocks zones, fitting the exact requirements of each component. Some pieces of equipment will need less current, higher frequency, or constant monitoring; you name it, the GSU can handle it. The GSU fits neatly in a shipping container and is easily transportable over land and sea. We can load it on a flatbed truck and drive it to site after site for MMW drilling. Because the GSU is built with widely available components, we can scale its production globally to achieve the core mission of Quaise: develop deep #geothermal energy to #decarbonize civilization within a generation.

“It will be a significant game changer to the sustainable energy equation when Quaise achieves a deep borehole in the field,” says Paul Woskov, who conducted the original research on millimeter wave drilling at the Plasma Science and Fusion Center at MIT. In our August Insights, we look under the hood at Quaise to see how millimeter wave drilling works and its implications for the clean energy transition: https://lnkd.in/eqKzygeK Dig Deeper ⬇ ⭐ Millimeter waves (MMWs) are all around us, as leftovers of the Big Bang and in 5G phone networks 🌏 In 2008, Paul Woskov applied his knowledge of gyrotrons and MMWs to study their potential for deep geothermal energy ⚡ Deep geothermal is up to 10x more powerful than traditional geothermal energy and exponentially more accessible by drilling with MMWs

The waveguide is how we deliver high-power millimeter waves to unlock deep geothermal energy.   Deep geothermal involves temperatures in the 300-500 C range at 3-20 km depths. At these temperatures and depths, getting energy to the bottom of a hole with conventional drilling methods—mechanical, hydraulic, or electrical approaches—becomes exponentially more expensive.   What you need is energy at a distance, which millimeter waves provide via waveguides. A geothermal waveguide is exactly as it sounds: it guides electromagnetic waves to the bottom of a hole. They are specifically designed metal tubes that maximize millimeter wave delivery over long distances. In a geothermal well, the waveguide stops just shy of the bottom of the hole to let the millimeter waves exit the pipe and vaporize basement rock.   Waveguides have been used for decades in telecommunications and fusion energy experiments. In the 1970s, Bell Labs built a 14 km surface waveguide to showcase a system that could carry half a million simultaneous phone calls. In fusion energy, waveguides carry high-powered millimeter waves to heat plasmas hotter than the core of the sun.   Waveguides themselves are nothing new. What's new is adapting waveguides for deep geothermal energy to enable the most secure path to net zero emissions by mid-century.

Geothermal energy is fundamental to life on Earth 🌎 In our July Insights, we explore the past, present, and future of #geothermal energy, including the power and potential of deep geothermal. It’s the story of who we are and where we need to go.   Dig Deeper ⬇   🌊 Life may have started in hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor or in geothermal ponds. 💡 In 1904, a plant in Larderello, Italy, was the first to generate electricity from geothermal. ⚡ Deep geothermal could collectively output terawatts of clean power, enough to sustain large countries and the future of civilization. https://lnkd.in/e9787AfQ

The gyrotron is the centerpiece of our breakthrough drilling platform to unlock deep, clean geothermal at the scale of the energy transition.   Gyrotrons generate powerful microwaves in the millimeter wavelength, heating matter to extreme temperatures. They were first invented in the Soviet Union in the early 1960s and have been predominantly used in fusion energy experiments.   In fusion, gyrotrons heat and maintain plasmas hotter than the core of the sun. In geothermal, we are scaling gyrotrons up to cost-effectively vaporize through basement rock. We call it millimeter wave drilling.   The #gyrotron is the key that unlocks the true potential of #geothermal energy. It allows us to drill 3-20 km down to reach heat in the 300-500 C range. At these temperatures, we can produce 10x more energy than conventional geothermal almost anywhere on Earth.   That's the power and potential unleashed by the gyrotron.