First Magma-Enhanced Geothermal System In The World Developed In Iceland

The first “magma-enhanced” geothermal system in the world — the IDDP-1 well at Krafla — has proven to be a great success, based on the first scientific reports on the project, which are now starting to be released.

The well, which penetrated into magma quite unexpectedly during the drilling of an exploratory borehole, has allowed for the achievement of a number of important milestones in the pursuit of a commercially viable magma-enhanced system. It’s been shown to be possible to drill down into molten magma and retain control; the insertion of a steel-casing at the bottom of the hole was shown to be a viable set-up; the set-up allowed for the harness of extremely hot, high-pressure steam for months at temperatures exceeding 450 C (a world-record for geothermal heat capture); the superheated steam from the IDDP-1 well could be routed directly into existing power plant infrastructure; and it was demonstrated that a high-enthalpy geothermal system could be effectively utilized.

Flow test of the IDDP-1 well at Krafla. Note the transparent superheated steam at the top of the rock muffler.
Image Credit: Kristján Einarsson

The University of California — Riverside provides more info:

In 2009, a borehole drilled at Krafla, northeast Iceland, as part of the Icelandic Deep Drilling Project (IDDP), unexpectedly penetrated into magma (molten rock) at only 2100 meters depth, with a temperature of 900-1000 C. The borehole, IDDP-1, was the first in a series of wells being drilled by the IDDP in Iceland in the search for high-temperature geothermal resources.

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Accordingly, a steel casing, perforated in the bottom section closest to the magma, was cemented into the well. The hole was then allowed to heat slowly and eventually allowed to flow superheated steam for the next two years, until July 2012, when it was closed down in order to replace some of the surface equipment.

“Drilling into magma is a very rare occurrence anywhere in the world and this is only the second known instance, the first one, in 2007, being in Hawaii,” explained Wilfred Elders, a professor emeritus of geology at the University of California, Riverside, and also a co-author on three of the new research papers, along with Icelandic colleagues. “The IDDP, in cooperation with Iceland’s National Power Company, the operator of the Krafla geothermal power plant, decided to investigate the hole further and bear part of the substantial costs involved.”

“In the future, the success of this drilling and research project could lead to a revolution in the energy efficiency of high-temperature geothermal areas worldwide,” Elders continued. “Essentially, the IDDP-1 created the world’s first magma-enhanced geothermal system. This unique engineered geothermal system is the world’s first to supply heat directly from a molten magma.”

“Although the IDDP-1 hole had to be shut in, the aim now is to repair the well or to drill a new similar hole,” Elders stated. “The experiment at Krafla suffered various setbacks that tried personnel and equipment throughout. However, the process itself was very instructive, and, apart from scientific articles published in Geothermics, comprehensive reports on practical lessons learned are nearing completion.”

The successor borehole, IDDP-2, is currently expected to be drilled sometime in 2014-2015, at Reykjanes in southwest Iceland.

The new findings are detailed in a number of papers just published in a special issue of the journal Geothermics.