Innovative Technologies and Processes in Geothermal Energy Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Geothermal energy represents a cornerstone of the transition to a future of sustainable and resilient energy, offering a stable, baseload power supply and serving as a direct heat source. Its importance is fundamentally linked to critical global challenges, including decarbonization of industrial processes, energy security, and sustainable water and resource management. Now more than ever, engineers and scientists are poised to address the key hurdles in expanding the role of geothermal energy, from resource access and identification to system integration and economic viability. Advances in this field span a wide spectrum, including the establishment of large-scale enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) for power generation; integration of geothermal plants into smart grids and hybrid renewable systems; direct-use application of geothermal energy in district heating and industrial processes; and use of small-scale geothermal heat pumps for individual buildings. The technologies that have been developed are diverse and rapidly evolving, encompassing novel drilling and completion techniques, advanced materials to withstand harsh downhole conditions, cutting-edge reservoir characterization and simulation, efficient power conversion cycles (e.g., ORC, Kalina), and intelligent control and monitoring systems. Modeling, simulation, and innovative design play a pivotal role in the development of these technologies, as they provide cost-effective tools for de-risking investments, optimizing performance, and understanding complex subsurface and process interactions at scales where direct experimentation is often impractical.

This Special Issue, “Innovative Technologies and Processes in Geothermal Energy Systems”, aims to present research demonstrating groundbreaking technologies, novel process designs, or innovative system-level approaches for harnessing geothermal energy. We seek contributions that demonstrate significant improvements in efficiency, cost reduction, environmental performance, or resource accessibility. In the spirit of open science, and to maximize the impact of the research presented in this Special Issue, authors are encouraged to deposit their relevant digital research objects—such as process simulation files, computational models, optimization algorithms, code, or datasets—in an open-access repository (e.g., PSEcommunity.org) and/or provide them as supplementary materials.

We welcome contributions that explore various aspects of geothermal systems, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS): Reservoir creation, stimulation, and management; fracture network modeling; and field trials to enhance EGS reliability, productivity, and scalability.
• Advanced Power Cycles and Process Intensification: Novel power cycles (e.g., supercritical CO₂, advanced ORC), heat exchanger innovation, and process optimization to maximize energy conversion efficiency from geothermal resources.
• Materials Science for Harsh Environments: Development of advanced materials, coatings, and chemical treatments to combat corrosion, scaling, and thermal degradation in harsh geothermal environments.
• Direct Use and Cascading Applications: Innovative applications of geothermal energy for district heating, industrial processes, agriculture, and cooling, as well as the cascading use of heat across multiple temperature levels.
• System Monitoring, Control, and Digitalization: Implementation of real-time monitoring, data analytics, AI, and advanced control systems for smart management, performance prediction, and maintenance of geothermal operations.
• Techno-Economic and Sustainability Analysis: Comprehensive assessments of the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental impacts, and policy frameworks that support the sustainable development of geothermal projects.

Dr. Fei Xiao
Dr. Long Gao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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