Tapping into Earth's super-hot deep rock could provide humanity with a source of nearly limitless renewable energy that could replace significant amounts of fossil fuels. This conclusion was reached by Swiss scientists from the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne. The study was published in the scientific journal Nature Communications (NatComms).
Experts have found that such rocks can form cracks that connect and make such layers more permeable.
These cracks are important because water passing through them enters a supercritical phase, a state that combines the properties of a gas and a liquid. Supercritical water can penetrate such fractures faster and more easily, carrying five to ten times more energy than modern geothermal wells.
The team carried out simulations. His results showed that in the future, people will be able to use networks of cracks in the earth's crust to extract supercritical energy in volumes that are an order of magnitude greater than the capabilities of existing geothermal sources. It is predicted that one such well will be able to operate for up to two decades.
