Frequently Asked Questions
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
01 - Why Endoria Energy as General Contractor?
Endoria combines the emerging SuperHot Geothermal opportunity with many years of accumulated expertise from the oil & gas drilling industry. For this Endoria is developing an integrated ultra-deep geothermal platform combining advanced drilling, subsurface engineering, EGS development and on-site power generation for industrial customers.
Endoria will be your one-stop-shopping point for an Ultra-Deep Geothermal Energy project. Endoria acts as the General Contractor coordinating the entire project and managing its execution with the aim to deliver a turn-key project.
02 - Which technology does Endoria use?
Closed loop. Single borehole. No fracking. Conventional drilling with enhanced equipment for SuperHot conditions with the assistance of IDDP.
03 - What drilling depths does Endoria target?
Endoria does not target a predetermined drilling depth. We target the temperature. Our objective is to access geothermal resources at approximately 500°C, wherever economically and technically feasible.
04 - Is it technically possible to drill to 16-20 km?
Yes, the underlying physics does not preclude drilling to 16-20 km, but commercially viable drilling and long-term operation at these depths have not yet been demonstrated.
05 - How can equipment survive temperatures above 400°C?
The challenge is not whether materials can withstand 400-500°C, many industrial materials already operate at comparable or higher temperatures. The challenge is combining temperature, pressure, corrosion, thermal cycling and mechanical loads into a reliable well system capable of operating for decades.
06 - How is the heat extracted and turned into energy (or hydrogen and/or heat)?
Endoria's objective is to unlock the heat contained in SuperHot Rock and convert it into continuous electricity, industrial heat and, where appropriate or required, hydrogen.
07 - Is Ultra-Deep Geothermal different from conventional geothermal?
For the purpose of this website, geothermal energy can be broadly divided into three categories:
Cat.1: individual households | 90-300m | 10-15°C
Cat.2: industrial applications (e.g. large scale greenhouses) | 2-4km | 90-120°C
Cat.3: Ultra-Deep Geothermal Energy, also called EGS (the new category) | 3-20km | 400-600°C
Category 3 (EGS) represents a paradigm shift and is fundamentally incomparable to the other categories.
08 - What happens if the geological conditions are different than expected? What are the operational risks associated with UDG/EGS?
Unexpected geology is a risk, not necessarily a failure condition. The key is to identify uncertainty early, monitor the subsurface continuously, establish clear operational limits, and retain the engineering flexibility to adapt the well design as real-world data become available.
Many of these risks can be identified, assessed and progressively managed as project knowledge increases. Endoria's deep-drilling experience gives it a basis for managing the operational side of those risks.
09 - How much energy can one well produce?
The ultimate output of an Endoria well has yet to be established. While our preliminary modelling indicates a potential of approximately 100 MWe per well, we expect EGS and SuperHot Geothermal technology to follow a development path similar to other breakthrough technologies - such as computer chips - where initial performance was modest but increased dramatically as engineering, materials and technology matured.
The progress already demonstrated by Endoria's international industry-peers gives us reason to expect substantially higher power densities and, ultimately, much larger output per well as the technology develops.
10 - What are the estimated CAPEX, OPEX and electricity costs (kWh)?
The economics of SuperHot Geothermal depend strongly on the local geothermal gradient, required drilling depth, well productivity, drilling technology, surface infrastructure and project scale. Endoria therefore does not publish a single generic CAPEX or LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity) figure at this stage. A first rough indication is that the start-up costs of building an EGS plant are in line with those of a gas-fired power plant.
11 - What is the land footprint of a single UDG/EGS-plant?
The vast majority of the "reservoir" is miles underground; surface footprint is tightly clustered. In general it looks and feels like a small gas plant, requiring no massive storage fields or heavy fuel-handling or safety zones.
12 - How does Endoria compare wind, solar, hydrogen, nuclear, and fossil energy generation??
Endoria's Ultra-Deep geothermal technology is designed to address one of the fundamental weaknesses of today's energy transition: the need for reliable, affordable and continuously available power, 24/7/365, independent of weather and daylight. Unlike conventional geothermal, Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) can potentially unlock geothermal resources in many more locations by engineering the underground reservoir.
Endoria's objective is not to compete with other forms of energy generation but to be a reliable low-cost and always-available component of the global energy mix.
13 - How is the seismic risk (if any) addressed?
Seismicity is a serious consideration in any technology that interacts with the deep subsurface. However, the seismic risk of Endoria's closed-loop Ultra-Deep Geothermal concept is fundamentally different from the mechanism that caused the earthquakes associated with oil and gas production (extracting materials from the subsurface of the Earth).
14 - What is the current Technology Readiness Level (TRL)?
Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is a measurement-tool developed by NASA and a nine-level framework used to assess technology maturity, from TRL 1 (basic principles) to TRL 9 (proven in operational use).
Endoria's technology should currently be considered pre-commercial and in the advanced development stage.
15 - What are the key geological, technical and operational risks associated with Ultra-Deep Geothermal Energy?
Like any frontier energy technology, Ultra-Deep Geothermal involves geological, drilling and high-temperature risks — but these can be progressively identified, assessed and managed.
The following risks can be distinguished: geological uncertainty, drilling risks, high-temperature / high-pressure risks, resource-performance risks, seismic and environmental risks and regulatory & economic risks.
Click 'More Info'-button below for a detailed breakdown of these topics.
16 - Who are Endoria's partners?
Endoria's partners are both Financial and Technical. Click here for an overview.
17 - What is the investment opportunity?
Endoria Energy is a deep-tech startup employing a partner-integrated model to deploy Enhanced Geothermal Systems for large-scale, capital-intensive baseload energy generation in Europe, beginning in The Netherlands.
Join us! Endoria offers:
- Financial partners: a staged investment opportunity, allowing investors to enter during a low-capital, early development phase before scaling up to fund major infrastructure once an appropriate TRL is achieved. By partnering through a joint Operations Company (OpCo) structure, Endoria combines its technical and operational expertise with the capital strength of forward-thinking, visionary investors.
- Technical partners: the opportunity to join a challenging platform and jointly develop a revolutionary technology that contributes to a more sustainable environment.
18 - What is the anticipated lead time from initial concept through to project commissioning?
From initial concept to commercial operation, we project a timeline of five years. Discover the critical stages, challenges, and milestones along the way.
19 - If geothermal energy is so promising, why has SuperHot Geothermal only recently become a realistic opportunity?
Because the technology required to unlock it did not exist at commercial maturity until recently.
20 - Are there differences in techniques and/or terminology between Ultra-Deep Geothermal energy, EGS, and superhot rock drilling?
We often use these terms interchangeably on this site. And because this branch of geothermal energy is new, the definitions and the boundaries between the related concepts have not yet fully crystallized. In practice, we frequently see an overlap, because at very great depths, EGS technology is usually required to extract heat at all.
- Ultra-Deep Geothermal (UDG): Defined by depth (>4,000 meters). Focuses on reaching deeper, hotter layers.
- Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS): Defined by technology and defined by the engineered nature of the geothermal system. EGS can involve hydraulic stimulation to create or enhance permeability, but not every engineered geothermal concept relies on hydraulic fracturing.
- Superhot Rock (SHR) Drilling: defined primarily by temperature, typically referring to rock/resources approaching or exceeding ~400°C.
The main difference: UDG is about how deep you go, EGS is about how you create water flow, and SHR is about how hot the environment is.
Summary: in Endoria's case, these concepts overlap substantially. We target SuperHot geothermal conditions at great depth and intend to use a closed-loop, engineered system without hydraulic fracturing. For that reason, UDG, SuperHot Geothermal and EGS are often used together when describing our concept.
21 - How is the absolute sustainability of UDG/EGS verified and aligned according to international industry standards?
Discover why Ultra-Deep Geothermal Energy (UDG/EGS) is the most promising, non-fossil, stable and low-priced baseload technology available today. Verified by strict international sustainability standards, this scalable breakthrough delivers reliable energy in the (potential) giga-Watt range at a very low cost.
Click on the 'More info-button' to read the full FAQ below to explore how this revolutionary solution ensures absolute transparency and prevents greenwashing.