ROP modeling performed by University of Oklahoma indicates a 600% increase in drilling rate compared to some conventional geothermal drilling methods and a more than 300% increase compared to millimeter wave drilling technology.
LEHI, Utah, April 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DeepPower, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough geothermal drilling technology, today announced that a rate of penetration (ROP) modeling performed by the University of Oklahoma of its patent-pending drilling technology, indicates a 600% increase in drilling rate is possible compared to some conventional geothermal drilling methods and a more than 300% increase compared to competing millimeter wave drilling technology.
A further techno-economic study will be required to estimate the resulting cost of geothermal energy per kilowatt-hour (kWh). However, a preliminary estimate can be obtained based on ROP. For example, a geothermal well can be drilled to a depth of 26,000 feet in approximately 75 days, at a 10 ft/hr average ROP (the approximate rate for conventional geothermal drilling) at an approximate cost of $37.5 million (assuming $500K/day drilling cost). If we can achieve our potential drilling rate improvement of 600% (60 ft/hr), then the same well can be drilled in approximately 12.5 days at an approximate cost of $6 million. This represents a dramatic cost reduction of more than $30 million, not including non-rotating times for well construction operations and any undetermined costs associated with new technology deployment.
Furthermore, conventional geothermal drilling equipment can only reach depths where the temperature is around 150-200 degrees Celsius. The holy grail of geothermal energy is 400 degrees Celsius, or approximately 10km deep, in a zone known as "Superhot Rock" where 10X more heat energy can be extracted than from more shallow wells. DeepPower's patent-pending technology is being developed to go where conventional geothermal drills cannot go, deep into Superhot Rock. Compared to millimeter wave drilling, a Superhot Rock technology being developed by others in the industry, the DeepPower drilling technology is predicted to be faster by more than 300%.
"This is very exciting news," said DeepPower CEO Andrew Van Noy. "Dr. Saeed Salehi and his team have now confirmed that there is a very real business case for their new drilling invention. The next phases of the techno-economic studies will provide us with a more comprehensive model regarding geothermal well cost, production, and other important metrics. These metrics will then drive the development of a lab-scale prototype, which will be optimized to build a pilot-scale drill. We congratulate Dr. Salehi and his team for this great progress and we look forward to more good news in the future."
Last year, DeepPower entered into a sponsored research agreement with the University of Oklahoma for a project led by Dr. Salehi to develop a breakthrough geothermal drilling technology. DeepPower has an exclusive option to license all resulting technology from this project for commercialization.
For more information about DeepPower, Inc., please visit our website at www.DeepPower.com
About DeepPower, Inc.
Deep Power is developing a breakthrough drilling technology to access Earth's unlimited source of green geothermal energy. The Earth's molten core is as hot as the Sun and harnessing just 0.1% of that heat energy can power humanity for 2 million years. Previous generations of drilling technology cannot go deep enough to make geothermal cost effective. We are developing a suite of advanced low-cost, high-temperature and high-pressure drilling systems to boldly go where no humans have gone before. The deeper we go the more energy we can unleash. Unlike large area solar and wind farms, a 9-inch hole by 5 miles deep can produce the same amount of power as 320 acres of solar panels. Like a power plug into the Earth, we aim to provide every city, state, and country direct and independent access to this "holy grail" source of eternal green energy.
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