GEOTHERMEON - the geothermal age has come
- Temperature in the Earth's interior
- Geothermal Energy - the largest energy resource of our planetThe thermal energy stored in the deep rocks beneath our feet is the largest energy resource of our planet and is basically available everywhere. Geothermal heat from hot water springs is one of the first energies utilized by human kind. The utilization goes back to the earliest days of human history.
Rock temperatures increase with depth, typically by 30°C per km, but up to 200°C per km and more in some places. The production of hot water from rock formations with temperatures greater 100°C provides the opportunity to generate electric power. - Geothermal Power Generation – a neglected potentialThe first electric power generation from geothermal energy was realized more than 100 years ago, in Lardarello (Italy). Since then, geothermal power is generated in several countries all over the world. However, in spite of the enormous potential and the proven technical feasibility, geothermal power generation still plays a marginal role in the world’s energy supply.
- Why is geothermal power production lagging behind other technologies?Up to date the utilization of geothermal energy has focussed on so-called conventional hydrothermal systems, where hot water or steam can be easily produced from subsurface reservoirs. Unfortunately, those geological systems can only be found in special places, usually near volcanically active zones. Famous examples are located in Iceland, New Zealand, Indonesia, Philippines, the West Coast of America and Japan. Most industrial countries with high energy demand have few or nil geothermal resources with such special features. In order to tap the much greater potential of geothermal energy in non-volcanic regions, improved reservoir development technologies need to be applied.
- Geothermeon’s missionWhile taking advantage of the potential of conventional hydrothermal resources it is Geothermeon’s objective to advance the economics of geothermal power plants by applying reservoir enhancement technologies. These technologies have been successfully developed and tested in many Hot-Fractured-Rock (HFR) or Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) projects all over the world and were adopted by the oil & gas industry, in the meantime. However, companies with practical experience from such projects are still rare. Geothermeon’s team has an unrivalled track record in HFR/EGS and we are using this in-house expertise to develop geothermal projects of the next generation. It is our mission to support geothermal energy in becoming a major player in the energy market and in opening up this vast potential for generating clean energy at market competitive prices for hundreds of years.
- Geothermeon's track record in HFR / EGS projects
