Why Baker Hughes is the US DODâs Choice for Geothermal
When the sun isnât shining or the wind isnât blowing, solar panels and wind turbines arenât generating energy â but geothermal energy is always there.
Energy technology company Baker Hughes has been selected by the US Air Force and the Department of Defenceâs Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) to explore geothermal energy opportunities.
Having achieved âAwardableâ status, the company can now explore utility-scale geothermal power plants that could be used to supply US military bases around the globe.
âThe ability of geothermal to provide reliable, secure baseload power makes it an ideal addition to Americaâs energy mix,â says Ajit Menon, Vice President of Geothermal, Oilfield Services & Equipment at Baker Hughes.
“Baker Hughes has been a pioneer in this field for more than 40 years and our unique subsurface-to-surface expertise and advanced technology across the geothermal value chain will help the US military unlock this critical domestic energy source, while simultaneously driving economic growth and energy independence.”
Geothermal energy
Geothermal power harnesses natural heat from the Earth’s core and crust produced by the slow decay of radioactive particles in its core and residual heat from the planet’s formation.
Near the inner core, temperatures can reach nearly 6,000°C.
Geothermal power plants convert heat into electricity using techniques like dry steam, flash steam and binary cycle systems.
Earth’s heat is constantly replenished through geological processes, making geothermal a sustainable source of energy.
Geothermal energy has been part of energy systems for more than 100 years, but it has played a limited role on a larger scale, meeting less than 1% of global energy demand.
Why Baker Hughes was selected
Baker Hughes is one of the worldâs largest oil field services, industrial and energy technology companies operating in more than 120 countries.
The companyâs roots trace back to the 1987 merger of Hughes Tool Company and Baker Oil Tool Company, founded in 1908 and 1913 respectively.
Baker Hughes was selected for US military geothermal exploration through the CDAO solicitation process, known as the Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace, designed to accelerate the procurement and adoption of mission critical technologies.
âThe US Air Force leveraged the Tradewinds solicitation process to quickly collaborate with innovative American companies to build resilient, next-generation geothermal technologies at our bases, using private capital instead of taxpayer dollars,â said Kirk Phillips, Director, Air Force Office of Energy Assurance.
The future of geothermal energy
Advances in technology, such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking, are opening new doors for geothermal energy.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that continued technology improvements and reductions in project costs could help geothermal to meet up to 15% of global electricity demand growth to 2050.
On average, global geothermal capacity had a utilisation rate of more than 75% in 2023, compared with less than 30% for wind power and less than 15% for solar PV, according to the IEA.
It is a dispatchable and clean source of energy with accessible and high-quality resources available around the world, including in the US, Iceland, Indonesia, TĂźrkiye, Kenya and Italy.
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