Here’s how deep geothermal drilling might be clean energy’s future
Quaise Energy is on a mission to prove that deep geothermal drilling could provide more than enough clean energy to meet the world’s needs as we move away from fossil fuels. Matt Houde, cofounder at Quaise Energy, explained its potential at the TEDX Boston Planetary Stewardship Event last week.
The aim of the Boston event, which was timed to run at the same time as COP27 in Egypt, was to “spotlight actionable ideas for human activity to achieve a sustainable relationship with the planet’s natural systems,” according to TEDX Boston’s website.
Deep geothermal’s potential
Houde, a speaker at TEDX Boston, explained why deep geothermal has so much potential:
The total energy content of the heat stored underground exceeds our annual energy demand as a planet by a factor of a billion. So tapping into a fraction of that is more than enough to meet our energy needs for the foreseeable future.
But we can’t yet drill deep enough to unlock that energy. Houde continued:
If we can get to 10 miles down, we can start to find economic temperatures everywhere. And if we go even deeper, we can get to temperatures where water [pumped to the site] becomes supercritical, [a steam-like phase that will allow] a step change improvement in the power production per well and so cheapen the cost of energy.
The deepest hole that’s been drilled to date, the Kola borehole in Russia, is 7.6 miles deep. It took 20 years to complete because conventional equipment like mechanical drill bits break down at those depths.
“And the truth is, we’ll need hundreds if not thousands of Kola boreholes if we want to scale geothermal to the capacity that’s needed,” Houde said. He went on to assert that Quaise:
[I]s developing technology to blast rock with microwaves to potentially drill the deepest holes on Earth. And no, I’m not stealing a plot device from Star Trek. This technology is real and has been proven in [an MIT] lab.
Deep geothermal’s possibility
Houde explained the benefits of deep geothermal energy in general. These include being available 24/7, which “can help balance out the intermittent flows of wind and [solar].” Deep geothermal plants also won’t need much land. Houde illustrated this with an artist’s rendition of a future rig next to truck shipping containers (see main photo).
Houde also said that deep geothermal is “the perfect energy source to take advantage of the largest workforce in the world, the oil and gas industry.” That industry has “11 million jobs in the US alone, and a skill set that is exactly what’s needed for geothermal to rapidly scale.”
Drilling with microwaves
Quaise is working to replace conventional drill bits with millimeter wave energy – cousins to the conventional microwaves we heat up our leftovers with. Those millimeter waves literally melt then vaporize the rock to create ever-deeper holes.
Scientists developed the general technique at MIT over the last 15 years, and proved that millimeter waves could actually drill a hole in basalt. The gyrotron machine that produces the millimeter wave energy has been used for around 70 years in nuclear fusion research.
Quaise’s technique also uses conventional drilling technologies developed by the oil and gas industry. The company will use these to drill down through surface layers – what they were optimized for – to basement rock – which millimeter waves can easily power through.
Houde explained that millimeter waves “are ideal for the hard, hot, crystalline rock deep down that conventional drilling struggles with.” They’re not as efficient in the softer rock closer to the surface, but “those are the same formations that conventional drilling excels at.” That’s why Quaise applies a hybrid approach to the problem.
Challenges remain
There are still several challenges that Quaise has to tackle in order to scale its technology, including a better understanding of rock properties at great depths. Further, Houde said, “we need to advance the supply chain for gyrotrons” and the waveguides that carry their energy downhole. That equipment is currently optimized for specialized one-off projects in fusion research. For deep geothermal applications, they must be produced in quantity and be robust and reliable in a field environment.
There are also engineering challenges that must be addressed. Houde said:
Chief among them is, how do we ensure full removal of the ash [created by the process] and transport that ash up the borehole over long distances?
Progress so far
In the MIT lab, engineers drilled a hole in basalt with a 1:1 aspect ratio – 2 inches deep by 2 inches in diameter. Quaise built upon MIT’s results by scaling up the power density of the microwave beam and the depth of the hole by a factor of 10 to achieve a 10:1 aspect ratio. The company is now building the first field-deployable prototype millimeter-wave drilling rigs.
Houde said:
Our current plan is to drill the first holes in the field in the next few years. And while we continue to advance the technology to drill deeper, we will also explore our first commercial geothermal projects in shallower settings.
Image: Hector Vargas/Quaise Energy
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The BYD “Shenzhen” set sail on its first voyage overseas this week. With 9,200 parking spots, or about enough to fill 20 football fields, BYD’s new car transport ship is now the world’s largest.
BYD’s largest car carrier sets sail for Brazil
BYD’s Shenzhen is on its maiden voyage to Brazil after setting sail on April 27. The vessel is carrying over 7,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It’s the largest single batch of NEVs exported from China so far.
The new vessel is BYD’s fourth car transport ship and the world’s largest, capable of carrying 9,000 vehicles. According to the company, that’s enough to fill about 20 football fields.
BYD launched its first car carrier, the Explorer No 1, in January 2024. It has already completed several trips to Germany, Spain, and Brazil.
Its second, the BYD Changzhou, set sail in December 2024, followed by the Hefei earlier this year. All three vessels can carry up to 7,000 vehicles, making the Shenzhen the largest so far.
The Shenzhen is named after the automaker’s hometown and demonstrates “BYD’s firm determination to promote sustainable development in Brazil.”
BYD is preparing to launch two more vessels, the Changsha and Xi’an. The Changsha is expected to launch soon, while the Xi’an was introduced on April 2.
The new car carriers will help accelerate BYD’s aggressive overseas expansion. In the first three months of 2025, the company sold over 206,000 NEVs overseas, more than double the number it sold last year.
BYD sells a wide range of vehicles in Brazil, including the low-cost Dolphin Mini, starting at around $20,000 (99,800 BRL). In October, it launched its first hybrid pickup truck, the Shark, starting at 379,800 BTL ($66,900).
Brazil is only one overseas market that BYD is targeting. BYD’s sales are expected to double in Europe in 2025, with significant growth in other key regions like Southeast Asia, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, to name a few.
Source: BYD
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‘Tesla homes’ in a Houston neighborhood where all the homes have Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls went for sale.
7 out of the 11 homes have reportedly already sold.
Tesla neighborhood is a term that is being used for new developments where all the homes integrate all or part of Tesla’s power ecosystem, including the Powerwall home battery pack.
The best example is a giant new development project in Austin, Texas, by Brookfield Asset Management and Dacra in which up to 12,000 new homes are to be built and offering Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls.
However, since the announcement, it looks like only some of the homes in the new neighborhood have Tesla energy systems.
In 2022, Tesla also announced a similar project in Las Vegas.
A year later, the company claimed to have deployed “over 600 solar neighborhoods” worldwide, with a total capacity exceeding 100 MW.
One such ‘Tesla neighborhood’ is a small block of 11 townhouse homes featuring Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls in Houston, Texas.
The homes were recently completed and went on sale, starting at $544,900.
Here are some pictures from the listings:
Utopia Homes, the developer behind the project, described the properties (via Chron):
Step into modern elegance expertly crafted by Utopia Homes. This property showcases groundbreaking Tesla Solar Roof Shingles and Power Wall technology, ensuring 100% energy security and eliminating electric bills for a truly sustainable lifestyle.
The house has proved popular according to the real estate agents, with 7 out of 11 homes already sold.
As we recently reported, Tesla’s solar roofs have proven to be a more expensive and niche product than the company previously presented.
Tesla has largely stopped discussing it, but it is still being deployed through some third-party installers, such as in this case, on new homes.
However, its Powerwall product remains a very popular solution for homeowners seeking greater energy independence and protection against outages, which have been a frequent problem in Texas.
More homeowners are turning to generators, and alternatives like home battery packs are gaining popularity.
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Canadian electric propulsion specialist Vision Marine continues to graduate beyond advanced outboard motors into a provider of all-electric boats. This month, Vision introduced two new electric pontoon boats – the 12-passenger V24 and 15-passenger V30, each capable of a range up to 90 nautical miles.
Vision Marine Technologies ($VMAR) is a Canadian technology company with over 25 years of experience in the marine industry. The company made waves (literally) by introducing its E-Motion turnkey powertrain system, which it has since integrated into a catamaran speedboat, which set a speed record of 109 mph in 2022.
Since then, Vision has introduced six hp two-cruiser vessels – the Fantail 217 and Volt 180, each capable of transporting 10 passengers via its E-Motion technology. Most recently, Vision Marine has integrated the full power of its 180 hp electric powertrain technology into two additional vessels, both electric pontoon boats.
Earlier this month, the company officially began sales of the Vision V24 and V30, which you can view below.
Vision Marine brings power and range to electric pontoons
According to Vision Marine Technologies, orders for its two new electric pontoon boats are now open, and they are touting the same E-Motion technology that put the company on the map a few years ago.
The first model is the V24, a 12-passenger electric pontoon that is 24′ 8″ in length and has 180 hp. The ultra-quiet E-Motion powertrain is powered by a standard 43 kWh marine battery pack, offering 40 nautical miles (46 miles) of all-electric range on a single charge. For added range, Vision sells a version of the electric pontoon with a second battery pack, totaling 86 kWh and delivering up to 90 nautical miles (104 miles) of range.
While the V24 offers more of a classic attempt at the pontoon boat, Vision’s additional new vessel, the all-electric V30, is a tad sportier and provides room for more passengers aboard (15). This 30′ vessel features the same E-Motion powertrain options, complete with the same two battery configurations to offer the same ranges as the V24.
However, the V30 has additional features such as 4 x 6.5″ interior speakers and cool-touch seats. Both models feature an integrated onboard charger that supports both 120- 240V (30 to 50 amps) for seamless charging, no matter the dock plug while moored.
The Vision V24 starts at $99,995 for the standard battery pack version, while the V30 starts at a higher price of $139,995. As previously mentioned, both electric pontoon boats are available to order today.
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