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While geothermal power is an attractive potential source for sustainable energy production, the high heat temperature requirements (typically >150?C) of most geothermal capture systems constrain geographic distribution and economic viability of geothermal energy production. Advancement of strategic material or mineral recovery aims to address this limitation. By partnering with geothermal and mineral industry stakeholders to develop additional revenue streams from brines, the economic viability of geothermal projects will increase while also allowing for increased geographic diversity of this clean, round-the-clock energy source. Rare earths and strategic minerals are essential for modern industry, especially clean-energy technologies, but are subject to supply risk in the face of ever-increasing demand. As an example, consumer uses of lithium batteries have soared over the last decade, powering everything from electric cars to tablets to cell phones. Global demand for lithium carbonate is expected to exceed 250,000 tons by 2017?a 60% increase over current usage. As demand grows in this burgeoning market, a reliable supply of critical materials for advanced manufacturing technologies is a growing concern. This program aims to help alleviate this type of supply bottleneck. The Energy Department seeks up to ten 1-2 year feasibility and/or applied R&D projects that will lead to commercialized technologies. Geothermal mining of rare earth and near-critical metals are the focus of this research, with the intent to effectively lower the cost of geothermal energy production while diversifying and stabilizing the supply of critical materials for domestic industries.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Technology Office(GTO) Zonal Isolation for Manmade Geothermal Reservoirs funding opportunity announcement (FOA) supports early-stage development of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) tools and technologies, and will seek to improve the performance and economics of EGS systems by funding research in zonal isolation. Zonal isolation technologies can radically improve the performance and economics of EGS, or manmade geothermal reservoirs. These technologies provide the ability to target specific zones for stimulation activities, which can enable the command and control of fracture location and the economy of resources. In turn, this reduces development costs and operational risks associated with EGS development and promotes more power from fewer wellbores. Under this funding opportunity, GTO is interested in two topic areas: Topic 1 - Invention and Innovative Design of Zonal Isolation Technologies and Techniques for EGS Stimulation; and, Topic 2 - Adaption of Existing Zonal Isolation Technologies for EGS Stimulation. The projects selected from this FOA will aim to develop reliable zonal isolation tools and technologies that: * Present low risk to wellbore integrity or the conductivity of fractures; * Can operate at high-temperatures in corrosive, hard rock environments for extended periods of time; and * Withstand large pressure differentials.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled "Low Temperature Mineral Recovery Program." EERE's objective in this FOA is to promote the advancement of thermal energy processes capable of converting geothermal heat sources into power, in conjunction with the development or exploitation of technologies capable of capturing, concentrating, and/or purifying valuable materials contained within geothermal brines to economically extract resources that can provide additional revenue streams to geothermal operators. This targeted initiative of the GTO focuses on strategic mineral extraction as a path to optimize the value stream of low-to-moderate temperature resources.

Through the Wells of Opportunity (WOO) FOA, EERE's Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) is soliciting well owners or operators with "idle" wells that are willing to partner with DOE to advance and test enhance geothermal systems (EGS) technologies in-situ. Due to the criticality of the technology prototyping and methodology testing phase of research and development in the innovation pipeline, this FOA focuses on active field testing, where the Federal government takes on the associated high cost and risks. Topic Area 1 - Pilot (FORGE Test Wells): The objective of this initiative is to select, prepare, permit, and repair idle wells for early-stage FORGE technology and methodology testing prior to or in lieu of testing in the FORGE Utah wells. These wells will be closely linked to the FORGE effort, contributing to the overall goals and mission of the FORGE initiative by enabling higher-risk technology testing. Topic Area 2 - Amplify (EGS Near-Field RD&D): This field validation effort will culminate in new power production, adding to the economic viability of these existing geothermal fields and illustrating that near-field EGS can be successfully deployed now and that low permeability/unproductive wells near existing hydrothermal fields can be turned into valuable assets using EGS techniques.

Reducing risk through improved drilling success rates is critical to securing financing and ultimately lowering overall costs for developing geothermal power projects. This success hinges on knowledge of the geological, geophysical, and geochemical characteristics that indicate geothermal favorability; along with improved coverage of data that are signatures of the key properties of temperature, permeability, and fluid. To this end, GTO is interested in projects that apply innovative exploration technologies to collect new data and/or apply new analysis methods to extract new value from data. Successful applications will focus on one of the regions identified in GTO?s Data Gap Analysis, and include a significant component of uncertainty analysis that directly demonstrates potential or real impact on success rates. Projects should lead to the development of a Geothermal Play Fairway, which details a specific region constrained through a favorabl e combination of structural and hydrological conditions.

The Geotechnical Engineering and Materials Program (GEM) supports fundamental research in soil and rock mechanics and dynamics in support of physical civil infrastructure systems. Also supported is research on improvement of the engineering properties of geologic materials for infrastructure use by mechanical, biological, thermal, chemical, and electrical processes. The Program supports the traditional areas of foundation engineering, earth structures, underground construction, tunneling, geoenvironmental engineering, and site characterization, as well as the emerging area of bio-geo engineering, for civil engineering applications, with emphasis on sustainable geosystems. Research related to the geotechnical engineering aspects of geothermal energy and geothermal heat pump systems is also supported. The GEM program encourages knowledge dissemination and technology transfer activities that can lead to broader societal benefit and implementation for provision of physical civil infrastructure. The Program also encourages research that explores and builds upon advanced computing techniques and tools to enable major advances in Geotechnical Engineering.

The Geotechnical Engineering and Materials Program (GEM) supports fundamental research in soil and rock mechanics and dynamics in support of physical civil infrastructure systems. Also supported is research on improvement of the engineering properties of geologic materials for infrastructure use by mechanical, biological, thermal, chemical, and electrical processes. The Program supports the traditional areas of foundation engineering, earth structures, underground construction, tunneling, geoenvironmental engineering, and site characterization, as well as the emerging area of bio-geo engineering, for civil engineering applications, with emphasis on sustainable geosystems. Research related to the geotechnical engineering aspects of geothermal energy and geothermal heat pump systems is also supported. The GEM program encourages knowledge dissemination and technology transfer activities that can lead to broader societal benefit and implementation for provision of physical civil infrastructure. The Program also encourages research that explores and builds upon advanced computing techniques and tools to enable major advances in Geotechnical Engineering.

The Utah Water Science Center (UWSC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner that has the ability to conduct research on the application of environmental tracers to water resources investigations in Utah and surrounding states including the Great Basin and Upper Colorado River Basin. UWSC primarily conducts research and operates monitoring networks investigating groundwater and surface-water resources in Utah and in adjoining groundwater and surface-water basins. Current research projects and networks include (but are not limited to) Great Salt Lake geochemistry and hydrodynamics, regional groundwater assessments, groundwater and surface-water quality, salinity fate and transport in Upper Colorado River Basin, groundwater discharge to streams in the UCRB, geochemistry and groundwater flow in geothermal systems, Great Basin groundwater availability, numerical ground- and surface-water modeling, methane fate and transport in streams and groundwater-surface water interaction. For more information about UWSC, refer to http://ut.water.usgs.gov/. For a successful cooperative agreement, the CESU partner must have complementary research interests and be able to address these and other potential research topics.

The GTE program supports fundamental research on geotechnical engineering aspects of civil infrastructure, such as site characterization, foundations, earth retaining systems, underground construction, excavations, tunneling, and drilling.  Also included in the program scope is research on geoenvironmental engineering; geotechnical engineering aspects of geothermal energy; life-cycle analysis of geostructures; geotechnical earthquake engineering that does not involve the use of George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) facilities; scour and erosion; and geohazards such as tsunamis, landslides, mudslides and debris flows.  The program does not support research related to natural resource exploration or recovery.  Emphasis is on issues of sustainability and resilience of civil infrastructure.  Cross-disciplinary and international collaborations are encouraged.

The GTE program supports fundamental research on geotechnical engineering aspects of civil infrastructure, such as site characterization, foundations, earth retaining systems, underground construction, excavations, tunneling, and drilling. Also included in the program scope is research on geoenvironmental engineering; geotechnical engineering aspects of geothermal energy; life-cycle analysis of geostructures; geotechnical earthquake engineering that does not involve the use of George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) facilities; scour and erosion; and geohazards such as tsunamis, landslides, mudslides and debris flows. The program does not support research related to natural resource exploration or recovery. Emphasis is on issues of sustainability and resilience of civil infrastructure. Cross-disciplinary and international collaborations are encouraged.