Drilling into the future
Pulsed power drilling to unlock the enormous potential
of geothermal energy
G-Pulse’s pulsed-power drilling technology is designed to give the world affordable access to the almost limitless potential of geothermal energy.
While the Earth’s subsurface contains enough heat to meet all global electricity needs, geothermal energy currently accounts for less than 1% of the world’s installed power generation capacity. This is because conventional geothermal technology relies on naturally occurring thermal fluid resources, which are limited to very specific locations. However, significantly reducing drilling costs could make next-generation geothermal power plants viable. These plants would create heat exchangers deep underground, injecting and heating water to generate power. This new technology removes the geological limitations and drastically expands geothermal potential. Geothermal resources could potentially provide 50% of power needs at depths up to 3 kilometers and five times that at 5 kilometers.
G-Pulse combines high pulsed power with conventional drilling to break up and soften hard rock before it contacts the drill. This increases drilling speed, extends the drill bit’s lifetime, and reduces the drilling cost per kilometer by a factor of three or more.