Endurance Energy has drilled and completed an underwater geothermal well at the Axial Seamount field, an active underwater volcano located about 300 miles off the coast of Oregon. The Seattle-based startup announced that this three-week operation marks the first comprehensive test of its underwater geothermal power system.
Details of the Geothermal Well Drilling
During this operation, Endurance Energy drilled a geothermal well to a depth of approximately 5000 feet (1524 meters) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, which had a depth of 52 feet (15.2 meters). The company also installed the Adélie test device on the seafloor and controlled the system remotely from Seattle via an underwater fiber optic network. The drilled well was cemented and piped, and upon completion, hot fluids with a temperature of 260 degrees Celsius (500 degrees Fahrenheit) flowed from it.
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Technical Challenges and Test Results
Since the newly drilled well did not produce enough flow to power the device, the Adélie team connected it to a nearby natural hydrothermal vent with an approximate temperature of 281 degrees Celsius (538 degrees Fahrenheit). In this test, the turbine reached speeds of about 26,000 RPM, and the system generated power for 8.7 seconds beyond its consumption. Endurance Energy reported that the median net output was about 2 kilowatts, with a peak consumption of 16.5 kilowatts recorded during the test.
However, this test also revealed technical challenges. Battery overload protection halted the initial power generation, and a cable supplying the refrigerant pump failed during attempts to restart. Endurance Energy stated that this operation provided data on seafloor drilling, well flow, heat transfer, mineral accumulation, and high-temperature power generation, as well as remote control of underwater equipment.
The company plans to deploy an improved version of the Adélie called Gentoo this winter to achieve higher output and longer operational periods. Their current drilling system can reach depths of up to 80 meters, while the 16-meter well completed in this test did not reach that depth. Endurance Energy is also developing Leopard, a commercial generator with a capacity of 2 megawatts, and a commercial project in Tonga aimed at achieving primary power by 2027.
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