Hunting's Aberdeen arm enters geothermal arena with work on Eden Project

The Aberdeen arm of Hunting Energy Services has entered the UK geothermal arena after supporting Cornwall’s world-famous Eden Project eco-attraction.

The firm, which has provided engineering, manufacturing and logistics expertise to the project, said it planned to expand further into the European geothermal marketplace.

Geothermal energy is produced naturally from the earth’s core. Typically, vertical wells are dug deep underground to access the thermal energy stored in the rocks and fluids beneath the earth’s crust, often reaching temperatures of 370°C.

For the Eden geothermal project, the first of a two-well system is currently being drilled. Once both phases are complete, hot water will be pumped down one well and the second will allow steam to rise to the surface and spin a turbine connected to an electricity generator.

Hunting has delivered 20,000 ft (approx. 6,100m) of casing to support the Eden geothermal project.

Ian Park, UK managing director for Hunting, said: “We are very excited that our first foray to support the UK’s energy transition is with the pioneering Eden geothermal project.

“There are great synergies for our tubular product line across many of the renewable energy industries including geothermal, making us the ideal choice for this ground-breaking project. We have been able to apply our expert methodology, technical support, logistics and project management skills to deliver our products safely, which has opened the door for us to support further geothermal projects in the future.”

Max Skerratt, project manager for Eden, added: “Hunting Energy Services supplied us with all of our casing needs for a 5,277m geothermal well in granite.

“The casing was ordered in the middle of the first Covid lockdown, however Hunting still managed to deliver all the casing with no delays to the programme.

“The communication and aftersales service with experienced onsite technicians in order to help us run the casing was a great help.”

The enterprise has been set up to unlock energy deep in the granite beneath Cornwall and supply heat to the Eden Project’s famous bio spheres, kitchen and greenhouses.

Hunting successfully project managed and transported thousands of metres of casing to the Eden geothermal site. About 20 of its personnel, including logistics staff, engineers, manufacturing and operations specialists, were involved in the campaign.

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