ABB recruited to maximize Sage Geosystems’ geothermal heat energy storage sites

Geothermal energy storage company Sage Geosystems has entered a partnership with Swiss electrification and automation specialist ABB as it aims to ramp up its geothermal systems to supply clean power to technology giant Meta.

Texas-based Sage has committed to supplying the Facebook parent company with 150 MW of its geothermal baseload energy and energy storage sites somewhere east of the Rocky Mountains, in the United States, with the first stage of the supply deal due in 2027, according to a press release published on the ABB website to announce the Sage partnership.

Zurich-based ABB will explore how its automation, electrification, and digital technology can maximize the energy efficiency and reliability of Sage’s GGS. ABB said its contribution could include “supplying a distributed control system … electrical infrastructure architecture, and digital solutions such as asset performance management, process optimization, and cybersecurity systems.”

Sage’s GGS technology works by pumping fluid into man-made, underground reservoirs, at pressure, in locations where geothermal heat will warm the liquid up to more than 150 C. The heated liquid is then released back to the surface, under pressure or powered by mechanical energy, passing through heat exchangers and turbines to generate electricity en route.

Sage says its systems can provide reliable baseload power and the energy storage aspect of its technology is that the pumping underground of the liquid can be performed at times when grid electricity is abundant and cheap.

ABB stated it is believed geothermal heat could power more than 65 million homes in the United States alone. The presser also cited a forecast from analyst Rystad Energy that the 16.8 GW of geothermal heat generation capacity present in the world today will hit 20 GW by 2030 and will surpass 110 GW by mid-century. Rystad expects the geothermal heat market to be worth $120 billion through 2035.