The actual principle of geothermal energy, but in a new location.
Geothermal energy is, in fact, the energy that we obtain thanks to the heat of our planet. Typically, a fluid is circulated to a certain depth – for example, water injected into a crack. The liquid heats up and rises, charged with thermal energy that can be converted into electricity.
Because Iceland has no shortage of volcanoes to warm the underground, geothermal energy provides 90% of the heating and more than 25% of the electricity. But so far, drilling has only aimed to penetrate to a sufficient depth to extract this heat, and the proximity of the volcanoes' magma did the rest. In the Krafla Magma project, which is scheduled to officially begin in 2026, we have decided against drawing magma directly from a “pocket” or “chamber”: that wholly or partially molten rock that, when it reaches the surface, ” emptied.” Form of lava – sometimes spectacular.
In theory, it is possible to benefit from a heat source that reaches 900°C – compared to 250°C for the best geothermal energy sources. This would result in power plants producing more energy for less money.
But isn't there a risk of an eruption where the magma decides to rise to the surface as soon as the tunnel gives it the chance? This question has been asked for a long time in the geothermal energy industry, and this is the reason for choosing the Krafla volcano: the pocket of this volcano was accidentally drilled back in 2009 without anything happening. The team at the Icelandic Deep Drilling Project, a public-private partnership, assumed that the magma would be more than 4 km deep and only wanted to drill close: they encountered the magma after just 2 km.
Still, the difficulty will be at the equipment level. The magma chamber is only 2 km away, but heat, earthquakes and corrosion will make things difficult. The Krafla Magma project was launched in 2014, but only now does the team feel almost ready to start drilling, according to a recent report in New Scientist. And again the work will begin with scientific observations – for example, nothing less than throwing instruments into partially molten rock in the hope that they survive long enough to collect as much data as possible about the temperature and transition phases between a solid rock and a rock that “melts” and the apparently special composition of this magma.
Plus the old dream of wanting to predict an outbreak in advance. If all goes well, researchers will have their first “magma observatory,” so to speak.
And at the same time, other countries that are home to volcanoes are looking with interest at the prospect of a more efficient and cheaper energy source.