Two teams from Houston, Texas were selected as winners of the US DOE’s American-Made Geothermal Manufacturing Award.
Two teams from Houston, Texas were selected as winners of the Geothermal Manufacturing Award by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO). Each winning team received $500,000 in cash and up to $200,000 to test their innovations.
The American-Made Geothermal Manufacturing Award is a $4.65 million competition that encourages innovators to use 3D printing or additive manufacturing methods to address the challenges associated with operating sensitive equipment in harsh geothermal environments. Teams rapidly developed, tested and modified prototypes using additive manufacturing to support the advancement of geothermal equipment and technologies. By focusing on manufacturing innovation, DOE is investing in improving performance, reducing costs and expanding clean energy deployment.
During the award, which was launched in January 2020, teams participated in three progressive competitions to propose a solution, design it and build a prototype. Finalists presented their innovations at the annual Geothermal Rising conference in Reno, Nevada. The winning teams and their projects are as follows:
- Team Downhole Emerging Technologies (DET.)) has developed an all-metal retrievable packer system designed for high temperature, high pressure and corrosive environments of geothermal wells. As a result of the partnership Proto Labs Inc. with Inconel were the largest additively manufactured components and
- Team Ultra-High Temperature Logging Tool developed a registration device using a labyrinth heat sink to reduce thermal emission and increase the exposure time of temperature-sensitive electronic components. Oak Ridge National Laboratory used powder bed laser fusion technology to produce the heat sink design with the goal of resolving the limitations around maximum temperature ratings and heat sink life. Electronics in recording and measuring equipment. The team worked closely with Sandia National Laboratories to test the logging prototype in a high-temperature environment.
The harsh geothermal environment – high temperatures, nearly impervious rocks, and corrosive liquids – pose significant challenges to the manufacturing of tools, components, and equipment. These tools and equipment have high manufacturing costs because the small US geothermal market generates low production volumes and equipment life is shortened under harsh conditions.
Additive manufacturing can help improve the performance of geothermal equipment and equipment by supporting high-performance material identification, manufacturing of complex components, and rapid prototyping, leading to rapid advances in geothermal manufacturing.
Fuente: US Department of Energy
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