Impressive, but how long did it take to drill 100 meters? I didn't see a mention of that.
They mentioned about 1 hour per meter at 1 MW.
Millimeter wave technology drills 100 meters into granite
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Re: Millimeter wave technology drills 100 meters into granite
#22[flagged]
Re: Millimeter wave technology drills 100 meters into granite
#23Impressive, but how long did it take to drill 100 meters? I didn't see a mention of that.
I think we can use 1 Gulf War for units
Re: Millimeter wave technology drills 100 meters into granite
#24From the thesis: https://www.proquest.com/openview/624989df3cdd8055a6cee9affc... "For the application in EGS drilling, this device uses a metallic waveguide to carry the millimeter wave (MMW) beam to a standoff distance from the crystalline rock. Argon gas is used as the waveguide fill medium due to its ability to stay transparent to MMW’s at such deep depths and thus higher pressures [12]. Purge gas is also used to…
Why mmwave instead of ultrasonic? FWIU 28 kHz shreds the quartzite in granite?
Re: Millimeter wave technology drills 100 meters into granite
#25Can someone explain how this works? A gyrotron is some kind of maser (like a laser but with microwaves). Are they vaporizing the rock?
Re: Millimeter wave technology drills 100 meters into granite
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
You mean the argon gas used as medium specifically? I assume the purge gas is something else, cheaper?
If the goal is to simply purge the content of the hole, compressed air is typically sufficient. That said, the wider the hole, and the deeper it is, the harder it is to lift material on air. To be clear though, I'd love to have one of these rigs on my old project and compare rate of progression and hole quality. Particularly when establishing the hole in sedimentary gravels and clays. I imagine casing will still be r…
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Re: Millimeter wave technology drills 100 meters into granite
#27From the thesis: https://www.proquest.com/openview/624989df3cdd8055a6cee9affc... "For the application in EGS drilling, this device uses a metallic waveguide to carry the millimeter wave (MMW) beam to a standoff distance from the crystalline rock. Argon gas is used as the waveguide fill medium due to its ability to stay transparent to MMW’s at such deep depths and thus higher pressures [12]. Purge gas is also used to…
You don't need a significant flow of argon, just enough to keep unwanted gasses out of the waveguide. It's possible there exists a material that is transparent to mm waves, airtight, and can survive the conditions at the bottom of the hole. In such a case they could cap the waveguide and prevent any gas leakage. I'm quite sure Quaise is well aware that Argon isn't cheap and are already exploring multiple avenues for…
SF6 is a horrifically powerful greenhouse gas, so I doubt it could be used. Its GWP is somewhere around 23,000 on a 100 year timescale.
Re: Millimeter wave technology drills 100 meters into granite
#28Impressive, but how long did it take to drill 100 meters? I didn't see a mention of that.
They mentioned about 1 hour per meter at 1 MW.
The video mentions that they did all the drilling so far at 100kW and are expecting to start doing 1 MW within the year.
I wonder what their transmission voltage is. They're talking about a 1km deep shaft. That feels like a lot of conductor to get to 1MW, unless you can send at 20kV or something high. Reciprocally though if you're not transmitting major force through a drillshaft, perhaps it still is a major net win for cost.
Figuring out heat management down there feels like it would likewise be pretty tricky! Again I wonder though how that would compare to the heat generated from drilling and how much management/circulation that requires.
Re: Millimeter wave technology drills 100 meters into granite
#29Its worth noting the original article was written July 2025. Not June 2026
Re: Millimeter wave technology drills 100 meters into granite
#30From the thesis: https://www.proquest.com/openview/624989df3cdd8055a6cee9affc... "For the application in EGS drilling, this device uses a metallic waveguide to carry the millimeter wave (MMW) beam to a standoff distance from the crystalline rock. Argon gas is used as the waveguide fill medium due to its ability to stay transparent to MMW’s at such deep depths and thus higher pressures [12]. Purge gas is also used to…
Why mmwave instead of ultrasonic? FWIU 28 kHz shreds the quartzite in granite?
Isn't the idea here to gasify the rock by essentially microwaving it? With ultrasound, wouldn't you still need to remove the leftover rocks?