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Fervo Energy, Hosted by EESA, Receives New Funding from DOE2 min read

by Christina Procopiou on September 19, 2018

GC-Sustainable Earth Geothermal Systems

Jack Norbeck and Timothy Latimer, cofounders, of Fervo Energy, a Cyclotron Road company at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

A Cyclotron Road company hosted by EESA was part of a new $4.45 million award from the Department of Energy in support of its work to improve enhanced geothermal systems. Founded in 2017, Fervo Energy set out to overcome the technical challenges keeping geothermal energy from becoming a commercially viable form of clean energy in the United States.

The DOE projects that geothermal energy can make up 100 GW or 15 to 20percent of U.S. electricity capacity by 2050. In enhanced geothermal systems, which are man-made geothermal reservoirs, heat acquired from water circulating in rock fractures deep in the Earth’s subsurface is extracted and converted to electricity.

Right now, geothermal energy makes up less than one half of one percent of the nation’s electricity – largely because researchers working to adapt tools and techniques used in oil and gas production to EGS technologies are challenged to find commercially viable resources and to consistently produce sufficient amounts of energy from geothermal drilling.

DOE’s recent award to Fervo Energy will support the company’s efforts with Schlumberger to upgrade Schlumberger’s proven zonal isolation technology with expanded reservoir capacity and materials capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures. Fervo Energy CEO Tim Latimer said that while initially these techniques would be applied towards increasing production at existing geothermal facilities, they had the potential to transform an industry.

“The mindset that geothermal can only amount to a small player in the energy world needs to change,” Latimer said. “Geothermal environments, like the Geysers in Northern California, are extremely cost-effective energy producers, but they are also extremely uncommon.

“Our goal is to develop enhanced geothermal systems technologies capable of replicating this powerful energy source in a wide variety of geologic settings across the country. The recent support from DOE helps us move closer to realizing that goal.”

 

News & Events

Former Intern Emily Nagamoto Wins AGU Award1 min read

March 27, 2023

Former Science Undergraduate Laboratory Intern (SULI) Emily Nagamoto received an American Geophysical Union (AGU) Outstanding Presentation Award, which honors exceptional presentations given during AGU’s 2022 Fall meeting. She was mentored by Staff Scientist Charuleka Varadharajan and Postdoctoral Research Fellow Mohammed Ombadi during her Summer 2022 SULI term. Currently an undergraduate student in Duke University’s Nicholas…

EESA Scientists Investigate How Tropical Soil Microbes Might Respond to Future Droughts2 min read

March 14, 2023

As the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, tropical rainforests are just as critical to sustaining environmental and human systems as they are beautiful. Their unique climate with high temperatures, humidity, and precipitation promotes high primary productivity, which offsets high respiration, resulting in these ecosystems being one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth,…

Doubling Protected Lands for Biodiversity Could Require Tradeoffs With Other Land Uses, Study Finds4 min read

March 3, 2023

This article first appeared on lbl.gov. Scientists show how 30% protected land targets may not safeguard biodiversity hotspots and may negatively affect other sectors – and how data and analysis can support effective conservation and land use planning Although more than half the world’s countries have committed to protecting at least 30% of land and oceans…

Six Berkeley Lab Scientists Named AAAS Fellows6 min read

This article first appeared at lbl.gov Six researchers have been elected into the 2022 class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced their 2022 Fellows, including six scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This lifetime honor, which follows…

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