IT CAN START OPERATIONS IN 2028. The plasma cannon that can bring unlimited energy before nuclear fusion.

IT CAN START OPERATIONS IN 2028

The plasma cannon that can bring unlimited energy before nuclear fusion These are the first images of the Quaise thermal power plant, which will use a plasma drill to access magma at great depths for unlimited and cheap energy.

Photo: The first images of the Quaise pilot geothermal plant. (Courtesy of Quaise)

By Jesus Diaz 11/24/2022 - 19:15 Updated: 11/29/2022 - 08:59

Six years. That's how long it will take us to see the first power plant that promises a new type of geothermal exploitation that will give us unlimited and cheap electricity on a planetary scale. All thanks to magma, running through kilometer-long tubes dug into the earth's crust by plasma drills developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

If the project is successful — and it seems to be on the right track, judging by its development in recent months — it will be an energy revolution without equal in human history. It's a technology that Carlos Araque — an MIT engineer, CEO and co-founder of Quaise — tells me is better positioned than fusion to deliver unlimited electricity on a planetary scale.

Photo: The researchers used a catalyst based on LED light. (Rice University)

They solve the great problem of the distribution of hydrogen Omar Kardoudi Araque says that the first test outside the laboratory — where they have already carried out numerous experiments on a 1:1 scale with great success — will be on a prototype that will start in 2024. If it goes well, "the first commercial operation will start in 2028," assures the engineer, who will use millimeter wave drilling systems to be able to dig further than anyone has ever achieved. In the images that accompany this article you can see what the first experimental plant will be like. placeholderArchitecture of the first test center. Note the scale for the blue containers. (Courtesy of Quaise) Architecture of the first test center.

Long before nuclear fusion

“Geothermal can provide the right scale of energy for our civilization, and it has an established workforce, supply chain, and regulatory framework to do it faster than fusion,” Araque tells me. “Geothermal works. Fusion not yet." Quaise's idea is to drill directly in places where traditional thermal power plants, which use fossil fuels, already exist. First they will use traditional drilling systems to reach a depth of five kilometers, something normal in the oil or gas extraction industry. At that point, they will move on to their directed energy drill.

The drill was invented at MIT by Paul Woskov — one of the Quaise co-founders — who created this drilling system using a gyrotron. Broadly speaking, this apparatus derived from vacuum tubes uses a beam of electrons that is amplified in a hollow resonance cavity. Inside is a magnetic field that accelerates these electrons to relativistic speeds, radically amplifying the energy of the microwaves.

The result is that the energy beam coming out of Woskov's drill is capable of vaporizing any rock imaginable. placeholder Quaise's unlimited energy goes through drilling the earth to a depth of 20 kilometers anywhere in the world. Quaise's unlimited energy goes through drilling the earth to a depth of 20 kilometers anywhere in the world.

Quaise engineers say their new directed-energy drill will safely reach depths of up to 20 kilometers, a distance that is totally impossible with mechanical drills. At this depth, they will access a temperature high enough to run a turbine of a thermal power plant. Once adapted, the traditional power plants would start to use this calorific power.

The holy grail of energy

If, as the Quaise scientists say, we can reach this depth anywhere in the world, we will get an unlimited energy source 24 hours a day at a very low cost. Global access to geothermal energy would eliminate the need for fossil fuels in one fell swoop. All countries would be totally self-sufficient. In a short time, this free source of energy could lower the electricity bill to ridiculous prices, the company claims. In Iceland, for example, the average energy bill — which includes electricity, heating and hot water — is around 22 euros. placeholder

Another perspective of the test plant, which will go live in 2024. (Courtesy of Quaise)

Access to a quantity virtually unlimited and constant heat would also allow humanity to continue advancing without generating CO2. According to estimates, we could power civilization for 20 million years using just 0.1% of its heat. Free of energy limits, green hydrogen could also be generated anywhere, which would serve to electrify transportation with limited use of lithium batteries.

We would also stop relying on renewables — which are intermittent by nature and require expensive and toxic storage solutions like batteries. In short, we could get rid of all the solar, hydraulic, atomic and wind plants that affect wildlife by reclaiming those spaces for nature. Let's hope they succeed and solve the technical challenges that lie ahead. We will have the answer in just two years.