St1 began drilling of geothermal pilot heat plant at Otaniemi in April last year. In the first phase the drilling was done using air hammer, which reached the depth of 4,5 kilometres. After that a shift was made to a water hammer technology. Continuing the project to a greater depth with the tested water hammer proved financially unreasonable and the company is looking for a new drilling solution.
Now, the project will focus on the development and testing of water hammer technology. This phase is estimated to last for approximately six months, after which the aim is to start the drilling again at the site. In this case, the project could be completed in the first half of 2018.
”Similar kind of project hasn’t been made in the hard soil like Finnish granite and to the targeted depth, so setbacks have been expected. The most important goal of the pilot project is to test and develop technically and financially profitable solutions for all work phases of the geothermal business concept so that it can be commerzialised after the pilot”, says Jari Suominen, the CEO of St1 Deep Heat.
More information
St1 Deep Heat Oy, CEO Jari Suominen, jari.suominen@st1.fi, +358 10 557 2371
St1 is a Nordic energy group whose vision is to be the leading producer and seller of CO2-aware energy. The company researches and develops economically viable, environmentally sustainable energy solutions. St1 consists of two sister groups: St1 Nordic focuses on fuels marketing activities in Finland, Sweden and Norway and on renewable energy solutions such as waste-based advanced ethanol fuels and industrial wind power. Company has 1450 St1 and Shell branded retail stations in Finland, Sweden and Norway. The sister group St1 Group focuses on oil refining. Headquartered in Helsinki, the company employs currently 700 people in Finland, Sweden and Norway. www.st1.eu