University of Utah and Utah FORGE Choose 13 Selectees to Begin Negotiations for up to $44M in Research to Advance Enhanced Geothermal Systems
SALT LAKE CITY, UT., November 14, 2023 – The Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) at the University of Utah is pleased to announce it has chosen 13 project selectee applications to enter negotiations for the FORGE Solicitation 2022-2. The selectees could receive a combined total of up to $44M over the next three years.
The topic areas and the selectees include:
| TOPICS | SELECTEES |
| Adaptive Induced Seismicity Monitoring Protocols | Global Technology Connection, Inc. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory University of Utah |
| Alternative Stimulation Schemes | National Renewable Energy Laboratory University of Oklahoma |
| Field Scale Experiments to Measure Heat-Sweep Efficiency | California State University, Long Beach Sandia National Lab Texas Tech University |
| High Temperature Proppants | Oklahoma State University Stevens Institute of Technology University of Oklahoma |
| Multiset Straddle Packers for Open Hole Operations | PetroQuip Welltec |
“Enhanced geothermal systems are the next frontier in meeting our energy needs,” said Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy “These new investments at FORGE will advance cutting-edge technologies in drilling and creating geothermal wells, which will help us leverage cost-effective and widescale geothermal power as a key resource in our clean energy future.”
Utah FORGE is a dedicated underground field laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office. It is working on advancing the technologies and de-risking the tools needed to establish Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) reservoirs. Solicitation 2022-2 is the second formal call for research proposals on EGS technologies from the Utah FORGE program. More information about Solicitation 2022-2 is available HERE.
“We are excited to collaborate on these new R&D projects. This research will be invaluable for de-risking the tools and technologies required for creating Enhanced Geothermal System reservoirs,” said Dr. Joseph Moore, Ph.D. and Managing Principal Investigator of the Utah FORGE project. “Each R&D breakthrough brings us another step closer to realizing the potential of geothermal energy, and the ability to generate EGS-based electricity anywhere in the world.”
About Utah FORGE: The FORGE site is located near the town of Milford in Beaver County, Utah, on the western flank of the Mineral Mountains. Near term goals are aimed at perfecting drilling, stimulation, injection-production, and subsurface imaging technologies required to establish and sustain continuous fluid flow and energy transfer from an EGS reservoir. For more information, please visit our website.
Media Contact: Christopher Katis ckatis@egi.utah.edu
To download the pdf of the press release click HERE
