The Wellbore Is the Power Plant
At Geothermal Rising 2026, Stephanie Vetsch, Director North America at EAPOSYS, joined the panel “The Wellbore is the Power Plant: Why Deep Closed-Loop Geothermal Changes Everything” to explore the opportunities and challenges facing the next generation of geothermal technologies.
A big thank you to moderator Alexis Garcia (NOV) and fellow panelists Neil Ethier (Eavor Technologies), Will Pettitt (Baker Hughes), Patricia Scroggin-Wicker (Burns & McDonnell), and Lance Sollohub (XGS) for an engaging discussion on what it will take to bring closed-loop geothermal to scale.
From Drilling Innovation to Commercial Deployment
One central message emerged: drilling innovation is essential, but technology alone will not deliver scale.
For EAPOSYS, improving the predictability and economics of deep well construction is a priority. Our ongoing work on well-intersection protocols aims to reduce corrective drilling and improve the reliability of closed-loop geothermal installations.
Equally important is the financing of first commercial projects. Public risk-sharing, non-dilutive funding and access to infrastructure capital can help bridge the gap between successful demonstration and repeatable deployment.
Looking Beyond the Cost of Energy
The discussion also highlighted the importance of assessing geothermal technologies beyond a single cost metric.
Water use, subsurface uncertainty, avoiding hydraulic stimulation for heat extraction, asset longevity and reliable low-carbon energy all contribute to the broader value of closed-loop systems.
Different technologies will naturally address different markets. At EAPOSYS, our initial commercial focus is on direct-use district heating and industrial heat, while the wider closed-loop industry is developing solutions for both heat and electricity.
From Demonstration to Scale
With growing energy demand and increasing attention to energy sovereignty, the challenge is no longer just to demonstrate what advanced geothermal technologies can achieve.
It is about building, learning, standardizing and deploying: turning promising technologies into reliable, repeatable energy infrastructure.
For EAPOSYS, this is precisely the transition we are working toward.