Wie neue Technologien Geothermie zu einer vielseitigeren Energiequelle machen

The US Department of Energy recently awarded $60 million in funding to three demonstration projects for EGS [Enhanced Geothermal Systems] and related technologies as part of a broader initiative to speed up EGS development. One 2019 report from the agency estimated that, with advances in EGS, geothermal power could represent around 60 gigawatts (60,000 megawatts) of installed capacity in the United States by 2050, generating 8.5 percent of the country’s electricity—a more-than-20-fold increase from today. Even an increase of a few percent could aid in a global energy transition that’s aiming to get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

On the whole, it’s an important moment for geothermal energy—and not just for providing carbon-free electricity, Robertson-Tait says. Geothermal brines hauled out of the Earth are rich in lithium and other critical minerals that can be used to build green technologies like solar panels and EV batteries. There’s a growing push to use direct geothermal heat to warm buildings, either through shallow heat pumps for residential buildings or larger systems designed for entire districts—like Paris and Munich already have.