Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $30M SUPERHOT program (Stimulate Utilization of Plentiful Energy in Rocks through High-temperature Original Technologies).
Delivered by the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), the program will support cutting-edge geothermal technologies to harness temperatures above 375 °C. To achieve this, the program will target key priorities such as innovative well designs, materials, and systems that can withstand challenging underground conditions. ARPA-E has a proven track record of seeding technology breakthroughs across the energy sector.
At these temperatures, the energy produced by a geothermal well can increase up to 10X.
Unlocking superhot geothermal power could expand the potential of geothermal well beyond the 800 GW recently estimated by the International Energy Agency, which limited its assessment to temperatures of 250 °C.
The Cascade Institute recognizes the SUPERHOT program as a transformative step toward unlocking the full potential of geothermal energy. As Canada seeks to scale its own geothermal potential, this announcement reminds us of the transformative possibilities that arise when vision, resources, and expertise converge.
Congratulations to ARPA-E and the DOE for advancing this critical frontier in clean energy!
You can find the full announcement here.
