Blade Energy Partners, Ltd.

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ARPA-E bets on materials that can survive superhot geothermal wells

Selected for the largest award, $6.3 million, pending negotiation

On November 12, the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) selected eight teams to share up to $30 million for one problem: building wells that survive rock hotter than 375 °C and under more than 22 megapascals of pressure. Commercial geothermal equipment tops out near 220 °C. Above that, steel casing, Portland cement and off-the-shelf electronics tend to fail.

Updated 1 hour ago