Tegwell Pursues Innovative Research into Geothermal Energy

Tegwell is pursuing research in the growing field of geothermal energy technology. They have brought on Benjamin Smith to research the feasibility and reliability of deep coaxial heat exchangers. The University of Bergen and Reykjavik University are working together to leverage their knowledge in oil extraction and geothermal energy.

Combining backgrounds from oil/gas and geothermal

The way forward with geothermal involves technologies and techniques from the oil/gas and geothermal sectors. This project works to combine the knowledge gained from advances in both fields. Advances in drilling techniques is a fast-growing and exciting area of development. These advances have many possible applications to improve geothermal energy viability in new areas.

State-of-the-art simulations

Tegwell is performing state-of-the-art simulations to predict deep coaxial heat exchangers' thermal response and longevity. These numerical simulations utilize two different programs to have redundancy and confidence. The simulations are done in FEFLOW by Mike Powered by DHI and CMG. Two leading software in the academic field. These simulations have shown a strong possibility to extract geothermal energy from coaxial heat exchangers for decades.

Advances that can be applied to geothermal energy

Advances in drilling techniques are exciting, but how can they be applied to geothermal heat extraction? Tegwell has explored how these can be applied.

• Vacuum Insulated Tubing (VIT): Has the ability to transfer heat from deep areas to the surface with minimum heat loss.
• Radial Jet Drilling (RDJ): Advanced drilling technique to better connect the wellbore to the surrounding rock.
• Conductive Material: Specialized carbon-based materials used to increase heat conduction and flow for heat exchangers.
• Plug and perf: Technique used to increase contact with the surrounding rock that can then be filled with conductive material to increase heat extraction rates.

The road ahead

The future of energy has always been an exciting topic, now more than ever. Tegwell aims to take the next step forward and redefine how we interact with and utilize energy. Closed-loop systems have the ability to power not only our energy needs but also the needs of the next generation.