Dr. Malcolm Ross, a geoscientist and lecturer at Rice University, as well as a Black Swan Detector at the University of Texas, discusses the historical hurdles that geothermal energy has faced and how closed-loop geothermal technology can overcome these challenges to achieve global scalability.
Ross explains his journey through academia and the oil and gas industry, primarily how his career at Shell allowed him to utilize his geoscience expertise, such as plate tectonic modelling, and paleogeographic and paleoclimate modelling. Moreover, he explains how these skill sets benefitted him in transitioning to geothermal energy. He explains that he wanted to pursue an industry that had a positive impact while utilizing his geological skills.
Having worked for an angel investing entity called Gamechanger, Ross honed his ability to identify not only innovative ideas but also Black Swan events and ideas. In describing what defines a Black Swan, Ross comments: “[They’re] ideas that no one thought would work but eventually were shown to work and then, all of a sudden, it was a big deal. That’s what I think closed-loop geothermal is – a Black Swan idea – it’s unproven, unexpected and could be an enormous opportunity if we can apply it everywhere.”
Eavor CEO John Redfern acknowledges that the company’s technology initially encountered legitimacy challenges. Nevertheless, he states that the evolution of Eavor’s innovations has demonstrated their solidity and uniqueness, presenting a concept that is, as Ross describes, “large, unexpected and, in hindsight, predictable.”
The primary challenge the geothermal sector has faced was scaling up its contribution to the global energy grid, which currently stands at a mere 0.4%. Ross notes that while geothermal energy has potential beyond electricity generation, including direct heating applications, it remains underutilized. To truly leverage its potential, geothermal efforts must expand globally, reaching areas beyond traditional hotspots like Hawaii, Iceland, and California.
Eavor-Loop™ technology is aiming to mitigate this gap, connecting firm, always-on power and worldwide accessibility. Furthermore, by leveraging oil and gas expertise in engineering, drilling technologies, and geosciences, Next-Generation Geothermal has the potential to enable energy autonomy across the planet.
”The challenges are growth-related challenges at first. Then, once we can show it’ll work, it’s how to make it widespread. The only way to do it is to transfer human resources from some of the oil and gas work to geothermal energy.”
