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Sustainability Times
4 days ago
- Science
- Sustainability Times
'Unlimited Geothermal Energy Is Real': Ultra-Deep Fracturing Breakthrough Promises Infinite Clean Power, Scientists Confirm
IN A NUTSHELL 🌍 Recent advancements by the EPFL could transform geothermal energy into a sustainable global power source. could transform geothermal energy into a sustainable global power source. 🔬 Researchers demonstrated the ability to fracture ductile rocks at supercritical depths, allowing water circulation. at supercritical depths, allowing water circulation. 🚀 Companies like Quaise Energy are exploring innovative drilling technologies using particle accelerators. are exploring innovative drilling technologies using particle accelerators. 💡 The potential for large-scale geothermal exploitation may revolutionize the global energy landscape. The quest for abundant and clean renewable energy has long faced technical and economic hurdles. However, recent advancements from the Laboratory of Experimental Rock Mechanics (LEMR) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) bring significant hope. Published in Nature Communications, these findings reveal that even at supercritical depths, where rock becomes viscous and semi-plastic, geological formations can be fractured to allow water circulation. This development could transform geothermal energy into a source capable of meeting global energy needs in a clean and sustainable manner for millions of years. Untapped Potential Beneath Our Feet Geothermal energy, known for its stability and cleanliness, remains a marginal energy source, primarily confined to specific geographical areas like volcanic regions. The main limitation lies in the depth required to reach the hot rocks, an extremely costly and technologically complex operation. Yet, beneath Earth's surface lies an almost infinite energy source: the planet's internal heat. Tapping into this energy on a large scale could help solve two of the world's greatest challenges: the climate crisis and energy shortage. This resource is termed supercritical when, at depths of several miles, water reaches temperatures over 750 °F, becoming a fluid with both liquid and gas properties. This supercritical fluid can transfer significantly more energy than water at lower temperatures, potentially increasing geothermal power plant output tenfold compared to traditional plants. The primary challenge is drilling to these extreme depths. 'I Built a Laser from Hell': YouTuber Unleashes World's Strongest Handheld Beam That Instantly Melts Metal and Ignites Anything Reaching depths where water becomes supercritical is a monumental task. The current drilling record is about 7.5 miles, achieved by Russia's Kola borehole. However, to widely exploit supercritical geothermal energy, drilling would need to extend even deeper, often to distances still inaccessible with current drilling technologies. If such deep drilling is perfected, geothermal plants could be installed almost anywhere on Earth, including at former coal power plant sites, which already have infrastructure like grid connections and steam turbines. The Crucial Role of Fracturing One major technical question surrounding supercritical geothermal energy is the ability to circulate water through very deep rocks. At such depths, rock formations no longer behave like those near the surface. Rather than being hard and brittle, they become more ductile, deforming plastically. This ductility long led geologists to believe it impossible to fracture them, a process crucial for increasing the contact area between water and rocks. 'Half the Time to Mars': This Spinning Liquid Uranium Engine Could Redefine Deep Space Travel for Future Missions This is where EPFL's research, led by Gabriel Meyer, provides a breakthrough. By replicating the extreme temperature and pressure conditions encountered at these depths, researchers observed how rock behaves when transitioning from a brittle to a ductile state. Utilizing sophisticated equipment, including a triaxial gas apparatus and 3D imaging with a synchrotron, they analyzed rock samples under high pressure. The results are surprising: although rock becomes plastic, it retains the ability to be fractured under certain conditions, akin to 'Silly Putty', a material that is both liquid and solid. If left undisturbed, it flows slowly like a liquid, but a quick shock breaks it like glass. According to Meyer, 'geologists long believed the lower limit for water circulation in Earth's crust was the brittle-ductile transition point. But we've shown water can also circulate in ductile rocks.' 'Space Needs Nuclear Now': This New Global Race to Harness Atomic Power Beyond Earth Is Accelerating Faster Than Expected Future Prospects for Geothermal Energy The EPFL's findings offer a promising future for geothermal energy. Companies like Quaise Energy, a coastal startup, aim to show that instead of using drill bits that easily break at such depths when temperatures rise, super-deep geothermal wells can be drilled using particle accelerator technology originally developed for fusion energy. Firms such as Fervo Energy and Sage Geosystems have already demonstrated the effectiveness of fracturing in traditional geothermal plants. With these new advancements, it's conceivable these techniques could apply to supercritical geothermal projects, exponentially increasing energy production. Moreover, new records pave the way for large-scale geothermal energy exploitation, potentially revolutionizing our global energy landscape. As these innovative approaches continue to develop, the potential for geothermal energy as a cornerstone of global energy solutions becomes increasingly tangible. How will these advancements shape the energy landscape in the coming decades, and what role will geothermal energy play in addressing the world's growing energy demands? Our author used artificial intelligence to enhance this article. Did you like it? 4.6/5 (26)
Axios
01-05-2025
- Axios
Anti-violence group calls for end to Philly gun raffle
The leader of a Philadelphia group opposing gun violence is calling for a local police nonprofit to end an annual gun raffle intended to honor fallen officers. The big picture: Hundreds of runners will travel to town this month to participate in the Law Enforcement Memorial Run (LEMR), a three-day, 150-mile race from Philly's Navy Yard to Washington, D.C. The run, held May 12-14 during National Police Week, honors police officers who died in the line of duty. For the fourth year, the New Jersey-based nonprofit's Philly chapter is holding an online gun raffle to kick off the event. What they're saying: Anton Moore, head of Unity in the Community, tells Axios the raffle is "tone deaf" and sends the wrong message in a community that has struggled for years to quell gun violence. "It's disrespectful to the families," he says. "Their legacies are much, much more than a gun raffle." LEMR's coordinator, Tim Hoagland, tells Axios he's never received complaints about the gun raffles. "People murder people. Guns don't," Hoagland said. The Philly chapter didn't respond to Axios' requests for comment sent through Facebook. Flashback: The memorial run started nearly three decades ago, when a small group of law enforcement officers from Philly and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ran from Philadelphia's police academy to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and back to honor fallen friends. Some of the money raised each year goes toward helping pay for hotels and food for runners, some of whom are family members of fallen police officers from around the U.S. By the numbers: More than 380 Philadelphia police officers have been killed in the line of duty since 1798 — about a third of them were fatally shot, per the Officer Down Memorial Page. So far, 23 officers have died this year, according to ODMP. How it works: The Philly LEMR chapter started selling tickets for the drawing in March, with proceeds benefiting the local chapter. The top prize is a Springfield Saint 5.56 — a semiautomatic AR-15-style firearm. Only entrants living in Pennsylvania who can lawfully own firearms are eligible for the gun prizes. Otherwise, they must take a cash option. Between the lines: "After my loved one was gunned down, I don't know how I'd feel about firearms," Brian Higgins, a former New Jersey police chief and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, tells Axios. "Doing it in the city of Philadelphia raises some issues."
