A live demonstrator that shows how patented technology can transform oil and gas wells to source limitless green energy has taken a vital step forward following support from New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership’s Growth Through Innovation Fund.
Great Yarmouth-based deep geothermal delivery specialist CeraPhi Energy is accelerating creation of a demonstrator skid for its CeraPhiWell to be set up on well sites for potential clients to witness how they can be part of the race to Net Zero and deliver lasting investment returns.
Modelling, designing and software for a CeraPhiWell demonstrator skid is now under way after the award of a Growth Through Innovation Fund grant from the LEP, which offers grants up to £25,000. The scheme will match-fund key CeraPhi’s development activities in the next six months to prepare the technology.
CeraPhiWell is closed-loop technology that fits into old wells to extract heat from deep underground by a downhole heat exchanger. The heat can be used for heating or cooling in nearby communities, agriculture and industry or, for higher temperatures, be converted to clean energy.
It can be used to create commercially useable heat from the sub-surface anywhere in the world.
Karl Farrow, CeraPhi CEO, said the target was to have the demonstrator on site by the end of June: “This grant has given us crucial support in development of this live demonstrator, which is critical to drive forward the CeraPhiWell for deployment and then the next step to create jobs for live projects.
“Investing in research and development and innovation is essential yet burdensome for a young fast-moving business like ours needing to rapidly develop technology to move forward and expand. Without grants like this, everything takes so much longer.”
Chris Starkie, Chief Executive of New Anglia LEP, said: “Exploiting our expertise and innovative capabilities, especially in the clean energy sector, is going to be crucial to delivering a high-performing, clean, productive and inclusive economy for Norfolk and Suffolk. So, we are delighted to support CeraPhi with the development of this heat-producing technology which, once deployed, will create valuable local jobs.”
CeraPhi, founded by a team of oil and gas engineers nearly 18 months ago, is driving deep geothermal projects using its proprietary closed loop technology across the world, with a total of nearly 1.2GW of heat, cooling and power projects under development and more than 1.8 GW under appraisal.
Headquartered in Great Yarmouth, with bases at Houston’s Greentown Labs and in London and Cornwall, CeraPhiWell’s proprietary patents cover the design and installation of a downhole heat exchanger system using existing technologies to be part of the energy transition.
Farrow said: “CeraPhiWell can be a fall-back or insurance option for wells that fall short of production expectations. Its retrofit architecture can be installed to bring commercial return by producing commercially-viable heat rather than owners embarking on costly well abandonment.”
Find out how to apply to the Growth Through Innovation Fund, here
