The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) and Fossil Energy’s Carbon Capture and Storage Office (CCS) are partnering to award up to $15 million for a Lab Call under the Subsurface Technology and Engineering Research, Development and Demonstration (SubTER) Crosscut. A key energy challenge today is to ensure safe, sustainable, and affordable availability of natural resources in the subsurface. SubTER is providing solutions to these challenges by dramatically accelerating technology development with the aim to achieve mastery of subsurface processes.

The Lab Call is open to DOE National Laboratories and will focus on developing innovative subsurface technologies and collaborative approaches to address challenges with wellbore integrity, and ensuring sustained integrity of the wellbore environment. The intent of the Lab Call is to advance the subsurface technologies within two areas of interest: 1) wellbore diagnostics and integrity assessment in existing wells, and 2) sensors and tools for long-term monitoring of wellbore integrity.

Under area of interest 1: DOE seeks projects that will develop novel and/or improved technologies to evaluate casing corrosion and/or cement quality (ability to act as a flow barrier), through the existing casing in place or through tubing and casing combined.  This also includes 3D imaging systems with improved resolution within the wellbore and near-wellbore environment. 

Under area of interest 2: DOE seeks projects to develop autonomous sensors and associated power, telemetry, and deployment systems for permanent installation to enable operational and long-term health of system monitoring.  Projects proposed in this area must specifically address any potential new failure modes (especially unconstrained pathways) associated with embedding devices in the wellbore system.

Meeting current and future energy challenges requires dramatic advances in technology to ensure sustainable, and affordable availability of natural resources and storage in the subsurface.