Enhanced Geothermal System - CO₂ EGS

CO₂ EGS

The recently established Center for Geothermal Energy Excellence at the University of Queensland has been awarded AUD 18.3 million for EGS research, a large portion of which will be used to develop CO₂ EGS technologies.

Research conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratories and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories examined the use of supercritical CO₂, instead of water, as the geothermal working fluid, with favorable results. CO₂ has numerous advantages for EGS:

1. Greater power output
2. Minimized parasitic losses from pumping and cooling
3. Carbon sequestration
4. Minimized water use