Geothermal Center of Excellence

Accelerate geothermal energy development through integrated research, technology innovation, and strategic partnerships.

Mission

The Geothermal Center of Excellence will serve as a direct conduit between industry, academia, and the advanced capabilities of the national laboratories to align on the priority technical barriers that must be addressed to cost effectively scale and accelerate widespread geothermal deployment.

The Geothermal Center of Excellence is the geothermal industry’s entry point to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories, connecting stakeholders with laboratory capabilities, facilities, and multidisciplinary teams to address high-impact technical barriers.

Established by the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO), the Geothermal Center of Excellence will unite expertise and world-class capabilities from across DOE’s national laboratories to accelerate the discovery and development of gigawatt-scale geothermal energy, resource discovery, and commercial development.

Located on the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) campus in Golden, Colorado, the center is led by NLR and enabled by NETL. This collaborative effort leverages the complementary strengths of NLR and NETL — along with the expertise from a broader consortium of DOE national laboratories — to advance geothermal energy science and technology and address the most difficult barriers facing geothermal development.

Center of Excellence Goals

Reduce technical barriers
Achieve measurable progress toward industry cost and scale targets
Accelerate industry-lab partnerships, connecting industry with specialized expertise across the national laboratory system
Harness synergies with other HGEO Centers of Excellence at NETL.

Background

The HGEO Strategic Plan establishes centers of excellence in four areas that will enhance collaboration on key functional areas with industry, other national laboratories, and partners across the federal government and academia.

HGEO Centers of Excellence:

Contact

Amanda Kolker
Geothermal and Geosciences Laboratory Program Manager
Amanda.Kolker@nlr.gov

Travis Shultz
Deputy Chief Research Officer (Acting)
Travis.Shultz@netl.doe.gov