US DoE lab offers up to USD 44m for enhanced geothermal research

Up to USD 44 million (EUR 43.2m) of funding has been made available in the US for developing and testing technology to support innovation in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS).

The solicitation was announced on Monday by the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE), a site managed by the University of Utah. FORGE is a dedicated field laboratory for developing EGS technologies.

The announcement is expected to support up to 17 research projects in five topic areas, including seismicity monitoring protocols, new reservoir stimulation techniques and experiments on EGS heat extraction efficiency.

EGS involve injecting fluid into naturally heated rocks to access geothermal energy. Their commercialisation can significantly expand geothermal deployment and help the US achieve its climate targets, DoE said.

In April, DoE asked for information to help it launch a USD-84-million programme for the demonstration of EGS that is included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.981)

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