Geothermal Energy Innovations & Startups Report

Comprehensive Showcase of Global Geothermal Energy Innovations & Startups

From CLIMAFIX, leader in climate innovation intelligence

Geothermal Energy Introduction:

Geothermal energy is the heat of the earth. This energy source uses the heat that is present below the surface of the earth for heating or power applications.

Globally, about 16 (16.36) GW of geothermal power generation capacity was available at the end of 2020(2023), present mainly in about ten countries that have significant geothermal activities required for geothermal power plants – USA, Indonesia, Philippines, Turkey, and New Zealand make up the top 5 in installed capacity. Geothermal heating through geothermal heat pumps is being used by many more countries worldwide.

First geothermal power generation and geothermal heating are fairly well-established technologies. The second and subsequent generations of geothermal power generation – using concepts such as enhanced geothermal and submarine geothermal – are still not fully commercialised.

Geothermal power generation requires the presence of hot springs or regions that have significant geothermal activity. As a result, large-scale geothermal power generation is likely to be restricted to a few countries for the 2020-2030 period. Geothermal heating however can become far more widespread, and for the following reason. The layer below the earth’s surface is at a constant temperature throughout the year – thus it is hotter than the surface during winter and colder during summer. Geothermal heating (and cooling) is thus feasible for most regions in the world.

Geothermal heating systems have few disadvantages except for the digging up work needed in the vicinity of implementation. In addition to the lack of exploitable sites, geothermal power plants have however faced other challenges in the form of environmental hazards such as gaseous emissions, and contamination of aquifers in the vicinity. The next-gen geothermal plants use processes for fracturing rocks (similar to processes used for shale oil or gas) and thus carry environmental and geological hazards some of which have not been fully understood yet.

Innovations in geothermal (both power and heat) for the 2020-2030 period will likely be in the domains of heat well design, innovations in various geothermal drilling and power generation equipment, groundwater source geothermal heating, and the use of digital and data-driven systems for geothermal power generation optimization. During this period, the development of binary cycle power plants and improvements in drilling and extraction technology may enable enhanced geothermal systems over a much greater geographical range. Enhanced geothermal demonstration projects are operational in countries like Germany, France, Australia, and the US.

The Geothermal Energy Innovations & Startups Report provides insights on the following: