#862: C-FER Researches Enhanced Geothermal For Electricity

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Most people associate geothermal energy with the production of heat.

But geothermal can also be used to produce electricity.

Brandon Curkan is a research engineer with C-FER Technologies, a subsidiary of Alberta Innovates.  

He’s working on the development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems for power.

BRANDON CURKAN:  EGS is a little special because you can do that potentially anywhere in the world.  For geothermal system you need three things to exist.  You need water, permeability and heat.   In a hydrothermal system, that all exists already.  But anywhere around the world if you drill deep enough, you can find heat.  So the idea with EGS is you produce your own water reservoir.  You drill a well deep enough to get to the heat, inject water, and then you can produce that water in a closed system.    So you can theoretically do it anywhere. So with these systems, if you get enough heat coming back up, you can use this heat to run a turbine.  And essentially  produce power wherever you have one of these stations.  

Brandon Curkan says his work on Enhanced Geothermal Systems draws from current oil and gas technology and has potential to improve SAGD or Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage operations.

Thanks today to ALBERTA INNOVATES

Learn more at Innovation Anthology.com 

I’M CHERYL CROUCHER

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Alberta Innovates

Alberta Innovates is a provincially funded Corporation with a mandate to deliver 21st century solutions for the most compelling challenges facing Albertans. We do this by building on our province’s research and technology development strengths in the core sectors of health, environment, energy, food and fibre and platforms such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and omics. We are working with our partners to diversify Alberta’s economy, improve our environmental performance and enhance our well-being through research and innovation. 

The Alberta Innovates system has roots stretching back almost 90 years

In March, 2016 the consolidation of Alberta Innovates was announced and on November 1, a single, integrated innovation powerhouse, Alberta Innovates, was formed. Two applied research subsidiaries – Innotech Alberta and C-Fer Technologies –  serve public and private sector interests.

The Alberta Innovates system was first created in January 2010, as part of an overall innovation framework developed within the Alberta Research and Innovation Act. At that time, four corporations were established:

  • Bio Solutions
  • Energy and Environment Solutions
  • Health Solutions
  • Technology Futures.

The Alberta Innovates system has a 90-year legacy. Our expertise is built on the successes of:

  • Alberta Institute for Agriculture
  • Forestry and the Environment
  • Alberta Agricultural Research Institute
  • Alberta Forestry Research Institute
  • Alberta Life Sciences Institute
  • Alberta Ingenuity
  • Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research
  • Alberta Research Council
  • iCORE
  • nanoAlberta
  • Alberta Water Research Institute (AWRI)
  • Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI)
  • Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA).

 

Program Date: 2017-04-25