Geothermal Manufacturing Prize Demo Day at GRC, Aug. 29, 2022
The demo day of the American-made Geothermal Manufacturing Prize will take place Aug. 29, 2022 at the Geothermal Rising Conference in Reno, Nevada.
The five finalist teams of the U.S. Department of Energy funded American-made Geothermal Manufacturing Prize are finishing the competition by presenting their technologies at Geo! Demo Day on Sunday, Aug. 28, at the Geothermal Rising Conference in Reno, NV!
Anyone attending the conference should stop by to hear all about the finalists’ innovations and their potential for helping grow this burgeoning renewable energy field.
The two winning teams—who will take home $500,000 each—will be announced Monday, Aug. 29, at the conference’s plenary session. Check back here to read all about the winners after the announcement has been made!
The five finalist teams:
- Baker Hughes (Houston, TX): This team is developing high expansion packers with additively manufactured backup rings. With an inventive, interlocking petal design, these backup rings will improve the zonal isolation in both open and cased hole geothermal wells.
- Downhole Emerging Technologies (Houston, TX): This team is developing an innovative alternative to traditional packer systems. The retrievable, all-metal packer system is designed specifically for high temperatures, extreme pressures, and corrosion experienced in geothermal wells.
- PLUGS (Morgantown, WV): This team is developing a sparger system that uses high-pressure air for artificial lift, which replaces the traditional electric pumps. The technology addresses maintenance issues experienced by existing pump technologies due to harsh geothermal conditions.
- The Bit Guys (Morgantown, WV): This team is developing an air-hammer drill bit with carbide cutter retention technology that tackles drilling-related challenges in geothermal environments. Basement rock is notoriously difficult to drill through and this bit technology addresses both the strength and temperature requirements for geothermal drilling.
- Ultra-High Temperature Logging Tool (Houston, TX): This team is developing a technology that uses a labyrinthian heat sink to reduce thermal emissivity and increase the exposure time of temperature sensitive electronic components. The technology solves limitations around maximum temperature rating and lifetime of electronics in logging and measurement tools.
Get ready to cheer on your favourite team.
Source: Herox, announcement of five finalists