US DOE issues call for proposals for geothermal and critical materials research

Salton Sea and the SouthernValley, California (source: flickr/ Doc Searls, creative commons)

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) has issued a call for proposals from DOE National Laboratories for research and development projects related to geothermal and critical materials.

Full applications must be submitted by the 20th of May 2024. The expected award issuance will be by September 2024. The complete call for proposals can be accessed via this link.

There is approximately USD 5 million in annual funding available to fun all projects solicited in this Lab Call pending applications, program direction, and go/no-go decisions.

The Lab Call is divided into three topics areas. Only one proposal per topic area can be submitted.

Topic Area 1 – Analysis on deep and shallow rocks in the Salton Sea geothermal area

This topic area focuses on analysis on rocks from deeper (hotter) and shallower (cooler) in the Salton Sea geothermal area to test whether the mineral hosts of lithium shifts with changes in temperature and to determine how quantities of lithium evolve with depth. Projects will develop a database of geochemical and thermodynamic properties of typical rock in the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area (KGRA) to better understand how mineral host rocks within a typical geothermal reservoir can be chemically or thermally altered to breakdown and release lithium and other potential critical minerals.

Topic Area 2 – Evaluation of novel drilling technology improvements in supercritical conditions

This topic area aims to increase access to the geothermal reservoir and stabilize lithium production over time by evaluating novel drilling technology improvements to fully access the geothermal resource. Applicants will develop an analysis of drilling materials specific to supercritical conditions like those in the Salton Sea KGRA.

Topic Area 3 – Characterization of critical materials in geothermal resource areas

This topic area focuses on characterizing lithium and critical materials in geothermal resource areas beyond the Salton Sea region. Projects will assess lithium presence, reservoir volume, concentration factors, production decline rates, and environmental impacts.

GTO is partnering with DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management to consider the Smackover KGRA and related oil and gas production areas (Topic Area 3a) and other KGRAs that have the potential to or are currently producing lithium and other critical minerals in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii (Topic Area 3b).

The research and development (R&D) activities to be funded under this lab call will support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving the innovation that can lead to the deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical for climate protection. Specifically, this lab call will address the Biden Administration’s Executive Order on America’s Supply Chain by strengthening the resilience of America’s supply chains by diversifying and facilitating greater domestic production of adequate stockpiles of critical minerals.

Source: US Department of Energy