Groundbreaking Joint Consortium Meeting Explores Latest Research in Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy has tremendous promise to serve as a baseload resource for the world’s energy future, and two University of Texas at Austin research consortia recently came together in a joint rollout of their ongoing geothermal subsurface and drilling technology research. The daylong symposium demonstrated the comprehensive and complementary strengths of the two research consortia.

The HotRock consortium from the UT Jackson School of Geosciences’ Bureau of Economic Geology joined the Rig Automation and Performance Improvement in Drilling (RAPID) consortium from the UT Cockrell School of Engineering’s Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering to showcase each consortium’s extensive experience and progress in geothermal energy research. The meeting was held at the Bureau’s Houston Research Center and hosted representatives from over a dozen member and prospective member companies interested in investing in innovative geothermal technologies.

A team of Bureau researchers shared the podium with the team from RAPID to display the leading edge of research and yet unpublished work that is key to the emerging revolution in geothermal energy—“geothermal anywhere,” the ability to successfully locate geothermal energy facilities in multiple areas outside of conventional geothermally active regions. Guests heard a number of presentations regarding the state of subsurface research into the challenges inherent in characterizing potential geothermal formations and into identifying solutions to a number of possible issues with geothermal drilling techniques. 

Ken Wisian, Bureau Associate Director and Principal Investigator of Hot Rock, remarked, “This event was a great demonstration of the power of our consortia, from both the engineering and geoscience schools at UT Austin, to solve real-world problems for industry!”

For more information about HotRock, or to join, please contact Ken Wisian.