---
title: "This Team Wants to Capture Unlimited Energy From Inside the Earth"
description: "A team of scientists has nearly dug deep enough inside Earth to tap into a reservoir of supercritical fluid, which could serve as a limitless power supply."
date: "2020-02-14"
modified: "2020-02-14"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/capture-unlimited-energy-inside-earth"
categories:
  - "Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "geothermal energy"
  - "renewable energy"
  - "the digest"
---

# This Team Wants to Capture Unlimited Energy From Inside the Earth

![A team of scientists has nearly dug deep enough inside Earth to tap into a reservoir of supercritical fluid, which could serve as a limitless power supply.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/team-capture-unlimited-energy-drill.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: ThinkGeoEnergy/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Digging In

In central Italy, a team of scientists dug a well two miles deep in search of a [functionally-unlimited supply](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/energy-dept-geothermal-power>) of clean energy.

If the group of Italian and Swiss geologists manages to get a little bit deeper and reach the K horizon — the depth at which they expect to find reservoirs of highly-pressurized fluids — they would be able to tap into [what *Wired* describes as](<https://www.wired.com/story/want-unlimited-clean-energy-just-drill-the-worlds-hottest-well/>) "one of the most energy-dense forms of renewable power in the world."

The trick, however, is digging that deep without triggering a massive earthquake along the way.

## Good Outlook

The scientists are optimistic that they can reach the K horizon without causing an earthquake — [they published research](<https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019JB018618?af=R>) in the journal *JGR Solid Earth* last month that suggests it's possible.

But tapping the energy source beneath — known as supercritical fluid because it has properties of both liquid and gas — will prove to be tricky in its own right.

"The fluids are very corrosive and dissolve a lot of stuff out of the rock that you need to deal with," said Susan Petty, cofounder of the geothermal company Alta Rock Energy, told *Wired*. "It's scary stuff."

## Risk And Reward

Scientists also need to make sure they've actually found a reservoir before beginning such an ambitious digging project.

Supercritical fluids are fairly uncommon, *Wired* reports, so even if this particular project succeeds, other parts of the globe may be out of luck. But the areas [near these hotspots](<https://futurism.com/iceland-is-using-extreme-tech-to-harvest-clean-energy-from-volcanoes>), if they tap in, could find themselves with access to unlimited clean power.

**READ MORE:** [Want Unlimited Clean Energy? Just Drill the World's Hottest Well](<https://www.wired.com/story/want-unlimited-clean-energy-just-drill-the-worlds-hottest-well/>) \[*Wired*\]

**More on energy:** *[Iceland is Using Extreme Tech to Harvest Clean Energy From Volcanoes](<https://futurism.com/iceland-is-using-extreme-tech-to-harvest-clean-energy-from-volcanoes>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)