The DeepU project has announced its laser drilling technology is ready for field testing, marking a major milestone in the journey to unlocking affordable and sustainable geothermal energy.
After 44 months of intense research and simulations, the DeepU consortium has produced its first operational prototype –a system that uses a laser bean and a supercritical nitrogen stream to drill through rock without physical contact.
This approach promises to cut costs, improve efficiency and significantly reduce the environmental footprint of deep drilling operations.
DeepU, funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Pathfinder programme, has been coordinated by the University of Padua and RED SRL, in collaboration with Prevent GmbH, Fraunhofer IAPT, Geoserv Ltd, the University of Wroclaw, and Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche-IGG, representing four European countries.
The newly developed prototype combines three essential functions in a single drill string and a drilling head: directing the laser bean to drill rock with precision; channelling the nitrogen flow to remove particles and cool the borehole walls; and providing a robust structure for the drilling operation.
Luc Pockelé, Project Coordinator at RED SRL, said, “Reaching the field0testing stage is a key step toward making geothermal energy reliable, cost-effective source available anytime, anywhere in the world. With DeepU, we can tap into the Earth’s heat in a cleaner, smarter way.”