Eavor’s solution (Eavor-Loop) is designed to be the world’s first truly scalable form of green baseload energy. It’s a disruptive technology that eliminates or mitigates many of the issues with traditional geothermal. As a completely closed-loop system, there is no fracking, no GHG emissions, no earthquake risk, no water use, no produced brine or solids, and no aquifer contamination.
Eavor’s system circulates a benign working fluid which is isolated from the environment in a closed loop, much like a massive subsurface version of a traditional radiator. It simply collects heat from the natural geothermal gradient of the Earth, at geologically common rock temperatures.
The $7.5 million demonstration project, Eavor-Lite, is designed to showcase all of Eavor’s unique and proprietary design elements at scale. The site, located near Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, will also be used as an ongoing test facility for advanced operating fluids being developed under Eavor’s ongoing R&D program. Drilling is to commence on Eavor-Lite in the third quarter of 2019.
Following successful completion of the demonstration facility, work will commence towards a commercial Eavor-Loop installation. While Eavor has a growing pipeline of such commercial power, heat, and combined heat+power opportunities, the first commercial Eavor-Loop project is expected to be a $73.7 million heat-only project in the Netherlands.
Malcolm Ross, the geothermal focus leader in the Shell New Energies Research & Technology team, explained the relevance of Eavor and its demonstration project.
“In searching for the next breakthrough in geothermal energy, we at Shell came up with our top ten list of what was holding geothermal energy back. We recognized that Eavor-Loop, and its unique conduction-only closed-loop design had the potential to address many of these concerns. That is why we’re supporting Eavor and their Eavor-Lite demonstration project.”
“Working with Malcolm and his colleagues at Shell’s New Energies Research & Technology team, has been extremely helpful”, said John Redfern, President & CEO of Eavor. “We appreciate Shell’s ability to look beyond conventional geothermal paradigms and see the potential of this completely new scalable form of geothermal energy.”
