ProCase- Novel Mult-ilayered Protective Casing for High Temperature Geothermal Wells

There is an increasing demand in the world for renewable energy instead of fossil fuel, which has caused growth in geothermal energy production worldwide in recent years. Due to the nature of the geothermal fluid in wells, high temperatures and corrosive species, failures can occur that cause abandoning and closing of wells. Currently, the power companies around the world are having to spend an extensive amount of money for repairing damaged wells due to casing failure. In some cases, the wells are even beyond repair so they must be closed off. In Procase the partners Gerosion ehf, SINTEF Industry, Ophiolite AS and FlowPhys intend to design and develop a three-layered composite casing that can survive the harsh conditions in the wells. The new material must be able to withstand high temperature and pressure, corrosive environment and at same time posses good insulation and low thermal expansion properties. The innovative ProCase solution has the potential to start a revolution in the construction of geothermal wells and make geothermal energy accessible to new markets.

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There is an increasing demand in the world for renewable energy instead of fossil fuel, which has caused growth in geothermal energy production worldwide in recent years. Due to the nature of the geothermal fluid in wells, high temperatures and corrosive species, failures can occur that cause abandoning and closing of wells. Currently, the power companies around the world are having to spend an extensive amount of money for repairing damaged wells due to casing failure. In some cases, the wells are even beyond repair so they must be closed off. In Procase the partners Gerosion ehf, SINTEF Industry, Ophiolite AS and FlowPhys intedn to design and develop a three-layered composite casing that can survive the harsh conditions in the wells. The innovative ProCase solution has the potential to start a revolution in the construction of geothermal wells and make geothermal energy accessible to new markets. During the span of the project, the consortium will develop material candidates for the coated thermal insulation layer of the multi-layered casing. The best insulation material candidates will be tested by Gerosion at their laboratory facilities, as well as in a simulated geothermal environment. The feasibility of these different materials will be assessed with material testing in laboratory and in geothermal condition. The goal is to have a prototype produced by the end of this three-year project, which will be achieved after finalizing the design parameters of ProCase. Later, the feasibility of this product on a larger scale will be tested in a real geothermal environment in cooperation with Icelandic energy companies.