WellSim

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

Geothermal energy is perhaps the most underutilized energy source, even though it in theory is available anywhere in the world, any time of the day, and independent of season: if drilling deep enough, it will eventually become warm enough to enable power and heat production. Moreover, with increasing installation of intermittent Solar PV and wind energy, the need for a stable, reliable, 24/7/365 energy source is larger than ever before. However, except for a few locations, the costs are too high, and geothermal energy needs to reduce its cost level to reach more areas. Drilling is the single largest cost, especially for deep geothermal, where the aim is to produce significant amounts of electric power. Many wells are destroyed and become unusable because of well casing failures. In the EUROSTARS project ProCase, we developed a new and novel geothermal well casing that has the potential to improve the heat production, reduce risks for casing failures such as fractures, buckling, and corrosion. In this project, we will both cooperate with the ProCase project as well as use findings and results from it to enhance and optimize the casing technology further. Specifically, we will develop, integrate, and tune new algorithms and software tailormade for performing simulations and optimizations of geothermal well casings.