In October 2023, infrastructure engineering software program firm Bentley Programs held the 2023 Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure in Singapore. The occasion acknowledges the distinctive work of Bentley software program customers advancing infrastructure design, building, and operations all through the world.
Because the Bentley Subsurface Firm, Seequent was featured prominently in lots of the finalist initiatives. Though there was no geothermal illustration on the record of finalists, there have been loads of applied sciences featured in the course of the occasion that may have helpful purposes for the geothermal sector.
To speak in regards to the potential of those purposes, we did an interview with Seequent CEO Graham Grant to listen to his ideas on how “going digital” can profit the geothermal business. Graham leads Seequent’s efforts to evolve the best way organizations work by way of higher subsurface understanding, discovering expertise options to buyer challenges that ship extra constructive outcomes for a greater world.
I want to begin with a significant announcement from the occasion, which was the acquisition of Move State Options. How does the software program of Move State Options complement the present suite of instruments of Seequent?
If we’re in regards to the geology, these guys are in regards to the reservoir and the dynamic nature of the physics of the reservoir. Each considered one of our geothermal clients will use a reservoir simulator of some kind. And so, we had already begun constructing an interface to Move State, so we will have actually good interoperability between the geology and physics of the reservoir.
You’ll properly know that the system behind a geothermal enterprise is a dynamic system. It’s steady and it’s evolving and it must be managed. It begins with a base information of the bottom, however then in the end, it’s about how the offtake works and the way the how the steam vegetation is working and whether or not it’s financial.
Bringing these items collectively into an built-in suite in a method that may assist an operator contemplate your complete operation is a fairly thrilling thought, significantly as Move State Options runs up into the floor community and to the purpose of technology.
What influence does this acquisition make to your present customers?
Instantly, we will begin a dialog in regards to the operation. In any case, the end result we’re on the lookout for is to provide cost-effective baseload electrical energy for the community of the nation the operators are in. And so it modifications the dialog – it’s now in regards to the end result, which is electrical energy.
To convey that form of experience collectively in a single room – the physics of the reservoir, the understanding of the community – and having the ability to mannequin that and assist customers consider how they’ll make that specific geothermal operation as optimum and economical as attainable – that’s is such an thrilling thought.
We discuss rather a lot about geothermal energy technology however recently there was a shift in focus to using shallow geothermal sources for heating and different purposes. How can Seequent assist with these kinds of initiatives?
Move State Options is a comparatively newer and smaller firm, and they also have been actually centered on the high-temperature geothermal area. Now, along with Seequent, we have now the chance to discover how that expertise can eb utilized to lower-temperature, heat-based geothermal initiatives.
We additionally now have the chance to discover present legacy expertise that Bentley has within the floor warmth area. Bentley is a participant in district heating, which isn’t largely identified. That’s fairly thrilling for us now to have the opportunity of working with that software program, and the alternatives that that creates.
Are you trying ahead, maybe, to an integration of Leapfrog with the opposite software program instruments that Bentley has?
Probably, as a result of now Move State has created a bridge between us and different attention-grabbing applied sciences of Bentley.
I want to return a number of months to when Leapfrog Geothermal was rebranded to Leapfrog Vitality. What does this rebranding say in regards to the shift in focus of Seequent and your altering function within the vitality transition?
We acknowledge that the time period “vitality” was a extra accessible model in comparison with “geothermal,” which isn’t well-understood by many individuals. It tends to be understood by these contained in the business and the geothermal business may be very specialist and it’s fairly small. As a positioning level, it was vital for us to make extra apparent what we’re about and what we’re doing.
However Leapfrog Vitality can be not the identical as what Leapfrog Geothermal was. We’ve got integrated some extra capabilities into the product that weren’t there earlier than, thus increasing the product suite and providing a extra superior and succesful resolution.
Would you say that Leapfrog Vitality is now extra outfitted for different purposes of geothermal sources, equivalent to carbon seize or lithium extraction?
We’ve got been concerned with some initiatives in lithium extraction, and have been within the early levels of investigating a few completely different carbon seize initiatives. We sit up for it, as a result of these are all components of the overall vitality panorama. The suggestions we’re getting is admittedly robust, that what we have now is a really highly effective set of basic capabilities that may be utilized into these these conditions.
These are two nice examples of why shifting away from the phrase “geothermal” to “vitality” opens up the sector to different areas that we’d wish to function in like carbon seize, brines, and low-temperature purposes.
By way of “going digital,” the geothermal business tends to deal with subsurface modeling and information visualization. What do you suppose are additional alternatives for geothermal initiatives to “go digital” and what can presumably be the advantages of doing so?
The above-ground infrastructure that makes a geothermal system work, which is the conversion of steam to energy, appears to me an apparent place to focus the thought of a digital twin that gives real-time suggestions loops on how a facility is working. Is it environment friendly? Are there points that require predictive upkeep work? All of the rules we have now talked about in a basic sense are instantly relevant to geothermal.
Over time, what I’d wish to see is the adoption of the type of approaches Bentley has been speaking about within the above-ground infrastructure scene being adopted by geothermal firms. Why? To make them extra dependable, have much less downtime, decrease their prices, decrease long-term upkeep, decrease the full value of possession, and prolong the lifetime of the useful resource.
Typically, make them extra financial is what we want to do. Once you’re producing electrical energy, it’s normally a enterprise with a fairly skinny revenue margin. It’s actually vital that we assist the geothermal operators be as environment friendly as they’ll and hold the fee base as little as we will to assist the economics of the venture.
I hoped {that a} geothermal venture will make it the record of finalists for the Going Digital awards, however it appears this isn’t but the 12 months for that. What do suppose are the challenges holding again geothermal from having a extra distinguished function and the way does Seequent assist deal with these challenges?
I believe the problem for geothermal proper now’s that it’s a small a part of the vitality business. Within the rating of the place our vitality comes from, geothermal is commonly categorized into “Others”. It’s extremely specialist, and it’s not a department or subset of every other business – it’s its personal factor.
I believe the opposite problem is that it’s bodily positioned in very particular locations, such Indonesia, the Philippines, New Zealand, Iceland, and the West Coast of the U.S. It’s not ubiquitous world wide, so it’s not on the it’s not entrance of thoughts for lots of people. So then it turns into a visibility downside.
One factor we will attempt to do, with the worldwide protection and model recognition we have now, is simply attempt to hold the flag flying for geothermal. We give it recognition amongst folks and governments we communicate to, and even different industries. As a expertise firm, giving it that diploma of visibility is a contribution we will make.
I believe that the subsurface information visualization that Seequent gives can assist in selling consciousness and understanding of geothermal programs.
It does, as a result of geothermal is just not well-understood. It at all times pursuits me how a lot we get requested about geothermal despite the fact that it’s a small proportion of our enterprise. Most people are simply fascinated about the place it comes from and the way it works. Individuals are serious about it, and we simply need to protecting making the hassle to lift its visibility.
