Baker Hughes launches consortium exploring geothermal technologies

The consortium will focus on how technology can retrofit a well at the end of its productive life for geothermal energy and renewable electricity production. The near-term focus of the consortium includes opportunities using closed-loop geothermal technology.

“This unique geothermal consortium supports Baker Hughes’ strategic commitment to position for new frontiers by innovating new opportunities for traditional oil and gas customers to generate low carbon and geothermal solutions. Further, this highlights our disciplined approach to long-term, sustainable growth to bring renewable energy in the US and beyond,” said Maria Claudia Borras, Executive Vice President of Oilfield Services and Equipment at Baker Hughes.

Largely funded by its industry partners, the consortium also received support from technology providers, including Vallourec and GreenFire Energy, through in-kind materials and labour contributions for constructon, testing, and piloting purposes. The first consortium project will centre around the test well at the Baker Hughes Energy Innovation Centre located at the Hamm Institute for American Energy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the US, the create the first-of-its-kind closed-loop geothermal laboratory in the world. The test well will simulate relevant subsurface environments to test the closed-loop system for many well configurations, validate engineering performance models, and offer scale for field pilot efforts.

“This consortium goes hand in glove with Continental Resources’ longstanding commitment to producing the energy our world needs while being stewards of our natural resources. We look forward to working with these collaborating companies using our complementary skills and innovative technology to transform completed wells into geothermal wells.

“This is a great example of the industry coming together to pursue new areas to provide the energy the world needs,” said Bill Berry, CEO of Continental Resources.

“INPEX entered the geothermal energy industry in 2011 and is currently involved in multiple geothermal projects in Japan and Indonesia. We are very pleased to join the Wells2Watts geothermal energy consortium and excited to collaborate with the consortium members. We have a shared ambition to solve environmental problems through new technologies and hope to pave the way for commercial utilisation of closed-loop systems enabling us to supply energy with an affordable price,” said Yoshiro Ishii, Senior Vice President, Renewable Energy and New Business of INPEX.

Baker Hughes has been a leader in geothermal energy development for over 40 years, bringing reliable heat and power production to over 25 different countries. Wells2Watts will initially focus on projects within North America and Asia Pacific. The consortium was signed in November 2022 and is part of the collaboration between Baker Hughes’ existing Oilfield Services and Equipment New Energy and Carbon Management business and the Industrial Energy Technologies Energy Innovation Center.

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global's Winter 2022 issue

The Winter 2022 issue of Energy Global hosts an array of technical articles focusing on wind, solar, energy storage, geothermal, and more. This issue also features a regional report on the Australian renewables sector.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/other-renewables/27122022/baker-hughes-launches-consortium-exploring-geothermal-technologies/