Understanding Active Transport in Extreme Environments Unleashes Next-Generation Subsurface Energy Technologies

Engineered “smart” materials such as stimuli-responsive microspheres hold the promise to alleviate a barrier to scaling sustainable subsurface energy technologies. Unlike most engineering disciplines, inadequate control of fluid flow paths dominates the financial uncertainty of commercial-scale subsurface energy projects. In this talk, Dr. Hawkins will illustrate the impact of these uncertainties on heat transfer and introduce a promising solution. His talk will begin with an exploration of the potential for co-producing hydrogen gas and geothermal fluid. Then, he will present a field-informed thermal-hydraulic simulation that quantifies the effect of extreme flow channeling in discrete rock fractures on production well temperature over time. The talk will conclude with a “sneak peek” into the development of an “active” tracer invented to solve the “short-circuit” problem specifically in the context of geothermal reservoir engineering.

Speaker: Adam Hawkins, Clemson University