Deep geothermal utilization

Orkuveitan's deep geothermal journey is about developing methods for harnessing geothermal energy from deeper and hotter geothermal layers than are currently used. Today, we utilize geothermal heat in high-temperature areas down to a depth of about 2-3 km at up to 350°C. The goal of deep geothermal utilization is to harness so-called supercritical geothermal heat at more than 400°C, thereby also deepening the utilization areas down to as much as 4-5 km.

Orkuveitan has participated in various collaborations aimed at this utilization. For example, Orkuveitan has been a participant in the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) from the beginning. Orkuveitan also participates in technological development within the KMT project and has in recent years taken part in numerous projects funded by the European Union and Geothermica, aimed at harnessing supercritical geothermal layers at greater depths than are currently utilized in Iceland. Examples of these projects include: COMPASS, DEEPEN, HotCase and GeoPro.

The third well within the IDDP project, IDDP-3, is scheduled to be drilled at the end of 2026. A year later, an injection well is planned to be drilled to explore water injection into supercritical geothermal layers.