This Company Just UNLOCKED Geothermal Energy WORLDWIDE!

Quick Overview

Sage Geos Systems has developed "pressure geothermal" technology, which unlocks geothermal energy across 50-60% of the Earth's surface by drilling into hot dry rock and using gravity fracking, offering a 24/7 clean energy source and large-scale energy storage solution.

Key Points: Sage Geos Systems' "pressure geothermal" technology enables access to geothermal energy in 50-60% of the Earth's surface, a significant increase from the traditional 2% accessible areas. Their method involves drilling into hot dry rock and employing "gravity fracking" with only water and crushed rock to create a single large fracture network, avoiding the chemical-laden processes associated with traditional fracking. A single multi-well pad can produce a constant 50 megawatts, enough to power 35,000 homes, with a target cost of 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Sage reinvented the turbine, utilizing a supercritical CO2 turbine that is 3D printed and uses a different thermodynamic cycle to generate more electricity per unit of heat. The technology also functions as a large-scale energy storage solution, "Earth Store," capable of storing energy for 2 to 18 hours at a cost of approximately 4 cents per kilowatt-hour, using only water and steel. Concerns about induced earthquakes are addressed by avoiding natural fractures, resulting in a "very low risk," and the process has near-zero emissions. The Earth's core will not cool down from widespread geothermal use; even powering the entire civilization would increase the Earth's natural cooling rate by less than 8%.

Context: For a century, geothermal energy, despite its immense potential to power global civilization for over 15,000 years from just the top 20,000 feet of the Earth's crust, has been limited to specific "hot spots" like Iceland or California, accessible in only about 2% of the world's surface. This limitation stems from the need for a "unicorn geology" – a rare combination of heat, water, and permeable rock – coupled with immense drilling costs, preventing it from becoming a widespread 24/7 clean energy source like wind and solar.