Currently, we are confronting a substantial challenge driven by the escalating demand for gas and electricity worldwide. Just the electricity and heat generation reach up to 41% of CO2 emissions per year. This burgeoning demand poses an ever-growing concern, both in economic terms and environmental impact, notably with the surge in greenhouse gas emissions in recent years. Consequently, the world is increasingly turning to geothermal energy solutions.

Geothermal power is a clean and renewable source of energy that can provide reliable baseload power in countries and regions where the resource is available.

Although high enthalpy (thermodynamic energy) geothermal resources are predominantly located in areas with volcanic or seismic activity (such as the Pacific Rim), significant and viable lower enthalpy resources occur in a wide range of geological settings.

Global geothermal potential is massive, yet only a small percentage of this potential is being exploited today, and many substantial geothermal regions are still waiting to be developed.

The reasons for the low level of utilisation of geothermal resources are several:

• Geothermal systems and geology are usually very complex, and they often occur in inaccessible terrains with limited or no available sub-surface information. Exploring without sub-surface information
• Geothermal drilling is high cost given the hole depth required, and the geological conditions typically encountered.

This combination of high risk and high costs make geothermal exploration and development extremely challenging.

Although geothermal energy occurs in a variety of geological settings, conceptually the formation of a geothermal resource requires three elements: a heat source, a cap rock or seal, and hydrothermal fluid circulation.

Xcalibur technologies are used to provide critical sub-surface information required to help understand these three elements of the geothermal resource.

Xcalibur’s advanced airborne geophysical technologies are used extensively to provide efficient, high-resolution mapping of sub-surface geothermal geology and structures.

This sub-surface data is used by geothermal developers to assess geothermal potential, inform exploration decisions, and to prioritise, de-risk and accelerate geothermal exploration and development.

FALCON® and HeliFALCON® AGG measures minute variations in gravity caused by differences in density between different rocks. This data is used to map geology, basement elevations, calderas and other volcanic structures, and fault systems that influence hydrothermal fluid circulation from surface to depths of many kilometres underground.

HeliTEM® AEM measures subtle changes in electrical resistivity between different rocks. This data is used to map the distribution of the geothermal cap rock (low resistivity zones created by thermal and hydrothermal alteration), structures and other geothermal features, to great depth underground (up to 500-750m depending on geology).

HeliFALCON® and HeliTEM® provide exceptionally high quality and resolution data for geothermal exploration and development, with significant advantages over traditional ground survey techniques, including:

• 100% data coverage with over national parks, rough or dangerous terrain, water bodies, etc
• Consistent high density data sampling for superior data quality and interpretability
• Minimal social and environmental impact (no ground access required)
• Significantly faster data acquisition for accelerated exploration and development
• Scalable technology to explore large regions effectively and efficiently and to identify areas with high geothermal resource potential for focussed follow-up.
• Higher efficiency and lower cost
• Complimentary magnetic data acquisition for reduced interpretation ambiguity