The American company Quaise Energy has made a breakthrough in harnessing the earth’s heat. subsoil. Tests in Texas have confirmed the effectiveness of a unique drilling technology using millimeter waves. This method can penetrate solid rock at record speeds, paving the way for large-scale use of geothermal energy.
During testing at a granite quarry in Marble Falls, Quaise Energy demonstrated the operation of a new generation drilling rig. The equipment uses a gyrotron, which generates high-frequency electromagnetic waves. Under their influence, the strongest pink granite literally evaporates, turning into ash.
The key achievement was the rate of penetration. In hard rocks like granite, the new technology showed results of about 5 meters per hour. In comparison, traditional diamond core drilling methods often achieve speeds of only 0.1–0.3 meters per hour in similarly challenging areas. Thus, the innovation is tens of times superior to existing solutions, which is what the authors of the technology had in mind when they spoke of 50-fold acceleration.
During the test series, the installation went 118 meters deep, setting a world record for millimeter wave drilling. More than 50 experts watched the process in real time. Field director Justin Lamb noted that the result exceeded all expectations, especially considering that this was the first attempt.
The company’s next ambitious goal is to drill a well 1 kilometer deep in October this year. As explained by test team leader Emily Williams, engineers will experiment with parameters to further increase speed and control over the process.
Quaise Energy CEO Carlos Araque emphasizes that the company sees its mission as making geothermal energy accessible and widespread. Breakthrough drilling technology could dramatically reduce the high initial costs that have so far held back development in this area. The success of Quaise Energy opens up the prospect of a transition to a clean and virtually inexhaustible source of energy that can compete with fossil fuels.
The material was prepared with the support of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science as part of the Decade of Science and Technology.
Source: quaise.com
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