Despite promising baseload power, geothermal continues to attract a fraction of the investment flowing into wind and solar. Mike Eason, Chief Technology Officer at John Crane, argues that the sector’s bottleneck is not resources, it’s engineering credibility.
Next-generation geothermal, including enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) and closed-loop designs, faces enormous upfront costs and technical complexity. While subsidies and financial models can partially de-risk drilling, Eason emphasizes that “reducing technical risk begins with disciplined engineering design and rigorous validation.” Repeatability, operational reliability, and long-term performance are the currencies investors trust.
Why does geothermal attract a fraction of the investment of wind and solar despite providing reliable baseload power?
We are not in a position to comment on comparative investment levels across energy sectors. What we are seeing is increasing technical progress and growing commercial activity in next-generation geothermal projects.
As projects demonstrate repeatability, operational reliability and long-term performance, confidence builds naturally. Our role is to support customers with the engineering solutions required to ensure safe and reliable operation as these projects move toward commercial deployment.
How can the industry use financial models and grants to de-risk the massive upfront costs of geothermal drilling?
From an engineering perspective, reducing technical risk begins with disciplined engineering design and rigorous validation.
Demonstrating repeatability and long-term performance is essential as projects progress toward commercial operation. Robust engineering execution supports confidence in long-term viability.
What specific regulatory shifts are needed to make geothermal a magnet for international funding?
John Crane does not take positions on regulatory policy. More broadly, confidence in any energy sector grows as projects demonstrate predictable execution, operational stability and long-term reliability.
Are we successfully transferring traditional oil and gas drilling expertise into the advanced geothermal sector?
Yes. Many of the directional drilling, well integrity and subsurface modelling capabilities developed in oil and gas are directly transferable to geothermal.
While the objective changes from hydrocarbons to sustainable heat the underlying engineering disciplines remain highly relevant. This cross-sector knowledge transfer is accelerating technical maturity in next-generation geothermal.
Will next-generation geothermal (EGS and closed-loop) drive costs down enough to rival natural gas in strategic profitability?
Geothermal offers a different value proposition from natural gas. It provides fuel-free, stable baseload generation with long asset lifetimes and predictable output.
As technologies mature, operational efficiency can improve. Its value lies in reliability and long-term operational stability rather than short-term fuel price comparisons.
Why did John Crane choose now to deploy resources into the US next-generation geothermal market?
We are responding to increased customer activity in the US geothermal sector. As projects move from concept toward commercial execution, demand for high reliability rotating equipment solutions grows.
For John Crane, this is about applying our established expertise in sealing systems, couplings and turbomachinery support to applications where reliability is critical. We support customers as their projects progress.
How do you balance the immediate profits of legacy energy systems with the heavy investment required for geothermal?
We apply the same engineering standards and reliability discipline across all energy applications. Our focus remains on supporting customers wherever high-performance rotating equipment reliability is critical.
The engineering fundamentals are consistent across conventional and low-carbon energy systems.
How is a 100-year-old company like John Crane adapting its operational models for highly experimental next-gen geothermal projects?
Our strength lies in engineering fundamentals, materials science, sealing technology, dynamic testing and structured project management.
As new geothermal applications emerge, we evaluate how our existing products and technologies can be applied, developed and qualified to meet the specific demands of those environments. That includes reviewing material compatibility, thermal performance, pressure limits and duty cycles, and then validating performance through controlled testing and engineering assessments.
Rather than re-inventing solutions from scratch, we build on proven platforms, adapting and qualifying them where necessary to support safe, reliable operation in new and evolving applications.
What specific criteria do you look for in geothermal developers before committing John Crane’s engineering resources?
We assess technical credibility, clarity of execution planning and alignment on engineering expectations.
Strong collaboration, realistic timelines and disciplined project governance are important to achieving reliable outcomes.
How do John Crane’s wet and separation seals survive the high-pressure, highly corrosive brines of geothermal environments?
Geothermal applications can involve elevated temperatures, high pressures and corrosive fluids. Our sealing solutions are engineered using advanced materials selection, corrosion-resistant metallurgy and validated thermal design principles. Performance is verified through controlled dynamic testing prior to deployment.
How does the John Crane Sense platform prevent catastrophic turbomachinery failures and protect geothermal operational margins?
Condition monitoring and predictive diagnostics help identify performance deviations early. This enables proactive maintenance planning and reduces the risk of unplanned downtime. Protecting turbomachinery reliability is central to maintaining operational performance.
What unique mechanical challenges do extreme thermal gradients and varying fluid phases present for your coupling technologies?
Thermal expansion differentials can create stress loads and alignment challenges within rotating systems.
Couplings must accommodate axial and radial movement while maintaining efficient torque transmission. Material selection and design flexibility are critical to long-term operational stability.
How are your seals engineered to safely contain hazardous byproducts like hydrogen sulfide in geothermal flash plants?
In applications where hydrogen sulfide may be present, we use H₂S-compatible elastomers, corrosion-resistant metallurgy and robust secondary containment strategies.
Compliance with relevant safety standards is essential. Containment integrity and operational safety are paramount.
What are the primary engineering hurdles in developing turbomachinery for supercritical CO₂ power cycles versus traditional steam?
Supercritical CO₂ systems operate at high pressures and temperatures with different density and compressibility characteristics compared to steam. Sealing and rotating equipment components must be engineered to accommodate these thermodynamic differences while maintaining tight tolerances and thermal stability.
How is John Crane ensuring the manufacturing scalability of specialised geothermal components to prevent supply chain bottlenecks?
We leverage our global manufacturing footprint, standardised design platforms and disciplined supplier qualification processes.
Project management oversight ensures coordination across engineering and production teams. Scalability depends on design repeatability, supply chain resilience and rigorous quality control.
How does optimising mechanical seals in a geothermal plant directly reduce its carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency?
Efficient sealing reduces leakage losses, improves turbomachinery efficiency and minimises unplanned downtime.
Improving mechanical efficiency supports overall plant performance and can contribute to lower lifecycle emissions intensity.
What technological breakthrough will finally untether geothermal power from tectonic fault lines and make it available anywhere?
Broader geographic deployment of geothermal depends on continued advances in drilling techniques and subsurface engineering.
John Crane’s expertise is focused on surface equipment reliability rather than subsurface resource development. As geothermal technologies evolve, our role is to ensure that rotating equipment systems operate safely and reliably in demanding conditions.
