EIT drill head
Development and testing of an EIT drill head for deep geothermal energy
| Funding: | Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy |
| Funding code: | FKZ 0325253A |
| Partner: |
Institut für Bohrtechnik und Fluidbergbau (TU Bergakademie Freiberg), Bauer Maschinen GmbH, Thomas Werner Industrielle Elektronik e. Kfm., BitsZ engineering GmbH, GBS Elektronik GmbH, GeoThermal Engineering GmbH, EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, GWT forschung + innovation |
| Duration: | 11/2010 - 04/2014 |
| Contact: | Erik Anders |
The expansion of renewable energy sources will be a major challenge due to the decline in fossil raw materials in the 21st century. In addition to wind, solar and hydropower plants, geothermal power plants are also becoming increasingly important. In order to be able to deliver base load capable energy, drilling in hard rock, such as granite and gneiss, has to be carried out in Germany to depths of more than 3000 m. Drilling with conventional tools is very time and cost intensive due to the high wear.
Based on the Electric Impulse Technology (EIT), a drill head consisting of an impulse voltage generator and a removal electrode was developed that can remove hard rock efficiently and with little wear. High-voltage impulses of several 100,000 V are generated within a few nanoseconds, which destroy the rock.
