Location: E19-319
Register here (Registration required)
Contact: Carolyn Ruppel, MITEI Deputy Director (cruppel@mit.edu)

Deployment of geothermal systems is expected to increase rapidly in the next decade, especially in Asia and North America. All types of geothermal energy—ranging from relatively shallow thermal networks (as proposed for MIT) to superdeep, superhot geothermal---have the potential to reduce dependence on fossil fuels for supplying electricity and/or heat. MIT researchers in many fields are contributing to technologies that advance next-generation (enhanced and superdeep) geothermal, and MIT ProtoVentures has a channel committed to commercializing MIT’s geothermal innovations. In March 2026, MIT Energy Initiative’s Spring Symposium for members will focus on “Next-Generation Geothermal for Firm Power” and be coupled with a separate all-day event focused on investments in superdeep geothermal. To catalyze greater interest in geothermal energy and build expertise on campus, the MIT Energy Initiative will host a one-day, in-person bootcamp covering the fundamentals of geothermal energy, key technologies, technical and economic feasibility, the startup/investment space, and policy considerations.  There will also be an introduction to MIT’s geothermal activities, research, and innovations.  The format will be primarily (lightly) technical overviews, with time for Q&A and discussion. Buffet lunch and coffee break will be provided by MITEI. In-person only and registration required (capped at 35).

Tentative schedule (updated January 5, 2026; subject to change):

• 9:00 am                 Welcome/logistics
• 9:05 am                 Introduction to Geothermal: Source of heat, finding resources, subsurface characteristics, geothermal systems and technology readiness levels, state of global installations, current policy and regulation [MITEI]
• 10:00 am               Shallow geothermal systems: Thermal networks [Susan Murcott, MIT D-Lab]
• 10:45 am               Morning break (provided by MITEI)
• 11:00 am               Medium-enthalpy geothermal systems: Lifecycle emissions and techno-economic analysis [Spiros Gkousis, MITEI]
• 11:45 am               Next-generation geothermal: High-temperature reservoir mechanics and extracting heat [Ben Holtzman, MIT Earth Resources Lab]
• 12:30-1:30 pm      Buffet lunch (provided by MITEI)
• 1:30 pm                 Technology for superhot geothermal [Andrew Seltzman, MIT Plasma Science Fusion Center]
• 2:15 pm                 Geo@MIT [Geothermal Club, Jason Chen, Technical Lead, MIT Mechanical Engineering]
• 2:30 pm                 Policy interlude: U.S. case for geothermal and industrial scaling [Motoy Kuno-Lewis, Global Climate Policy Center at Harvard and MIT]
• 3:00 pm                 Innovation, investments, and startups in geothermal [Andrew Inglis, MIT Protoventures]
• 3:30 pm                 Questions and discussion
• 4:00 pm                 Adjourn