| Title | Vacuumized pipe-in-pipe solution for efficient geothermal heat extraction everywhere |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kim Maver |
| Year | 2026 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | repurposing well, closed loop, co-axial, horizontal well, deep geothermal |
| Abstract | A geothermal single closed-loop co-axial well solution drilled to a depth of 3-5 km and with a 2-5 km slanted or horizontal section can produce sufficient heated water for direct use in district cooling and heating and industrial applications like desalination without the use of heat pumps at the surface. Circulating fluid will flow in the outer casing string of the co-axial solution with contact to the geological formations, and in this process, the fluid will be heated along the horizontal section to the approximate temperature of the subsurface before returning to the surface in the inner patented insolated pipe with a continuous vacuum. The vacuum nearly eliminates the heat loss as it acts like a thermos flask compared to a standard solution loosing 30-40% of the heat on its return to the surface. With this closed loop solution there is no corrosion, and the installation has a lifetime of 50+ years. The geological risk is nearly eliminated and a well will always produce thermal energy with the possibility to adjust the output during the year. With a surface footprint of a 20 foot container for the facilities, and the limited electricity consumption for a small circulation pump with no risk of subsurface fracking and ground water interference, this is a really environmentally friendly solution. A near global application is possible due to the limited geological requirements of the solution which will be shown through project examples. |