Consortium launched to explore and develop deep offshore geothermal in the UK

Global Santa Fe Drilling Rig off the shore of Scotland (source: flickr/ ST33VO, creative commons)

In a release today, the comapnies dCarbonX Ltd, ZeGen Energy Ltd & Ross DK A/S announced the formation of The Aquarius North Sea Geothermal Consortium. This new and exciting international group is focussed on exploring and developing the deep offshore geothermal resources of the United Kingdom.

“’Aquarius’ or the ‘Water Carrier’ is the perfect representation of our joint objective to harness the geothermal energy which lies deeply buried offshore UK, marrying societal needs for clean energy with UK climate objectives” said Dr John O’Sullivan, Co-Founder dCarbonX. “We are actively working with Operators to co-develop, finance & deliver the first UK offshore geothermal projects.”

Each party holds a 33.3% working interest in Aquarius and collectively the group demonstrates formidable expertise in offshore exploration, drilling, operations & financing. More exceptionally is Aquarius’ significant geothermal experience and marketing perspectives, which provide a unique understanding of the technologies and workflows required to deliver these innovative projects.

“We are thrilled to finally announce the dawning of the Age of Aquarius” said Kirsten Pasturel, Founder of ZeGen Energy, “the collective expertise across the three companies is unique and underpins our strategy of working collaboratively to accelerate and support both society and industry through the Energy Transition.”

Aquarius is actively working with a number of large North Sea Operators to explore the geothermal potential of existing assets, with the initial focus being offshore platform electrification. Additionally, green field geothermal exploration opportunities are also being evaluated that promise to support a new era of UK offshore activity, energy security and long-term skilled jobs.

Lars Andersen, Founder of Ross DK A/S added “the unique combination of skillsets and experience embedded within the Aquarius trio has been recognised by Operators and is a game-changer for UK offshore geothermal. Our innovative and proprietary ‘Aquarius Toolbox’ is central to screening the commercial potential of offshore geothermal projects, and has allowed prioritisation of key opportunities.”

About the companies:

About dCarbonX Ltd

dCarbonX Ltd is a pioneering private UK company established to discover geothermal, subsurface energy storage and carbon sequestration assets to facilitate the energy transition. Based in London, dCarbonX Ltd is originating and building a portfolio of high-value Energy Transition sub-surface assets in EMEA, deploying advanced technologies in a new process known as ‘Decarbonization Exploration’ and using its proprietary ARC (Avoid – Reduce – Capture) methodology. dCarbonX Ltd was founded in 2020 by Dr. Angus McCoss, Dr. John O’Sullivan and Mr. Tony O’Reilly.

In September 2020, dCarbonX announced a business partnership in Saudi Arabia with STEPS to work on geothermal energy opportunities in Saudi Arabia. Subsequently, dCarbonX expanded its footprint into continental Europe, Middle East and East Africa through the formation of the Libra Consortium with REinvent GmBH to focus on geothermal and energy storage assets. www.dCarbonX.com

About ZeGen Energy Ltd

ZeGen Energy is a Scottish based company founded in the spring of 2020 and driven with the ambition of assisting industry in the Energy Transition. The ZeGen model uses proprietary assessment software to identify and deliver technical and commercially viable geothermal solutions for scaled deployment. It is ZeGen’s aim to build a geothermal portfolio, focussed on enhancing client profitability, corporate and social responsibilities, whilst accelerating the transition to a Net Zero future. www.zegen-energy.com

About Ross DK A/S

Ross DK A/S, is a Danish company specialising in professional well management and with a proven track record of delivering successful geothermal projects. A highly technical company, Ross DK has the deep understanding of geothermal well delivery required to provide complete life-cycle service from project inception through design and engineering to drilling and supervising wells. www.rossoffshore.dk

Source: company release