Generating electricity from heat at the bottom of the ocean for the first time
Executive Briefing
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“**An American company has successfully tested an underwater geothermal power plant, marking an impor”
Key Takeaways
- 1.**An American company has successfully tested an underwater geothermal power plant, marking an important step forward in renewable energy.** Energy startup Endurance Energy (headquartered in Seattle) has just announced a historic step: successfully testing the world's first ocean-bottom geothermal power generation technology.
- 2.Endurance Energy has successfully demonstrated the end-to-end operation of an undersea geothermal power plant, including all stages from well drilling to power generation.
- 3.The Adelie pilot plant produced 2 kilowatts of real power for nearly 9 seconds, more than needed to keep the system running.
An American company has successfully tested an underwater geothermal power plant, marking an important step forward in renewable energy.
Energy startup Endurance Energy (headquartered in Seattle) has just announced a historic step: successfully testing the world's first ocean-bottom geothermal power generation technology.
Endurance Energy has successfully demonstrated the end-to-end operation of an undersea geothermal power plant, including all stages from well drilling to power generation.
The Adelie pilot plant produced 2 kilowatts of real power for nearly 9 seconds, more than needed to keep the system running.
Endurance Energy was founded in January 2022, and the company said it completed testing on September 27, and moved from testing individual components to operating the entire system.
Andrew Redd, founder and CEO of Endurance Energy, said: “We have placed a power plant on an active underwater volcano and are already generating electricity. This is a historic milestone and also our first full-scale test” .
He emphasized that the company has gathered valuable information about performance at depth and how to improve the system for future commercial projects.
To produce clean electricity, the team of engineers harnessed thermal energy from the Axial Seamount volcano, located 300 miles (about 482 km) off the Oregon coast. They used robotic drills to locate geothermal wells on the ocean floor.
After completing the drilling process, the team installed a 3-tonne power plant and connected it to a natural hydrothermal vent, generating hot water at 281°C, turning turbines and producing electricity.
Although the latest testing shows positive prospects for operating a deep-ocean geothermal system, Endurance Energy also cautions that the current system is not yet ready for commercialization.
The company is facing many challenges, including problems due to battery overload and mineral buildup, that need to be resolved before widespread use.
When commercialized, deep-sea geothermal systems promise to provide continuous, weather-independent clean power to serve coastal power grids, industrial parks and data centers globally.
