ÍSOR nominated for a European innovation award

ÍSOR's flexible coupling (Flexible Coupling) received a nomination from the European Geothermal Energy Council for the Ruggero Bertani EGIAward 2025 innovation award. In total, five companies are nominated, and the winner will be announced at the GeoTHERM conference, held in Offenburg, Germany, on…

ÍSOR's flexible coupling (Flexible Coupling) received a nomination from the European Geothermal Energy Council for the Ruggero Bertani EGIAward 2025 innovation award. In total, five companies are nominated, and the winner will be announced at the GeoTHERM conference, held in Offenburg, Germany, on 20–21 February 2025. Link to EGEC's news item: https://www.egec.org/celebrating-geothermal-innovation/ The flexible couplings are designed to reduce the stress generated due to thermal expansion that arises in the cemented steel casings of high-temperature boreholes. Great hopes are pinned on these new flexible couplings significantly reducing the likelihood of damage to casings, which has been a considerable problem until now. In order to increase the reliability of the structure, conventional casing couplings are replaced with flexible couplings. The casings of high-temperature boreholes consist of about 12 m long steel pipes that are screwed together and form a casing that, in conventional wells, is 800–1200 m long. During drilling, the well is kept cold by circulation pumping of drilling fluid, but when drilling is stopped and the well is ready, it heats up and the steel begins to expand due to thermal expansion. The temperature of high-temperature boreholes varies depending on the area and that depth and is most often in the range of 250–300°C. Stresses that arise during heating in most cases far exceed the yield strength of the steel, which means that the material is deformed. By using flexible couplings, this stress generation is prevented by allowing about 15–20 mm of displacement in each pipe, and the material is thus kept below the yield strength. Jarðboranir is currently drilling a production well at Nesjavellir for Orka náttúrunnar, and the first production of flexible couplings, about 80 units, will be installed in the production casing of the borehole. This is a notable milestone in the journey of the flexible couplings, but by proving the technology in a borehole, one comes closer to the goal of using the technology for deep-drilling wells where the production temperature could be in the range of 450–550°C. ÍSOR is a participant in the research project COMPASS, which is supported by the European Union's Horizon Europe program and is led by Orkuveitan and Orka náttúrunnar. In the project, the aim is to improve the design of deep-drilling wells as preparation for the drilling of the deep-drilling well IDDP-3.