WORKSHOP
W-12: Key Business and Technology Enablers and Barriers of the Geothermal Industry in 2026
Friday, 21 August | 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | TBD
Geothermal energy provides 24/7, reliable, clean energy that can be used for power generation and direct use. There is a significant momentum in the geothermal community now, driven by new subsurface and surface technologies, field demonstrations, and business cases, such as data centers, co-production of critical minerals, and the co-production of hydrocarbons. This workshop covers topics related to key business and technology enablers and barriers of the geothermal industry to grow at a commercial scale. Covered topics include:
• Open-access temperature and resource databases and maps
• Recent geothermal field tests
• Government-funded geothermal project updates (state and federal agencies)
• Techno-economics
• Current barriers to developing the geothermal industry beyond the western United States
• Lessons learned and way forward
Lead Organizer
Shuvajit Bhattacharya, University of Texas at Austin
Co-Organizer(s)
Nicole Wagoner, Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy
Gabe Matson, Fervo Energy
Contact
See More Workshops
W-1: 4D FWI for Reservoir MonitoringFriday, 21 August 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
W-2: Agentic AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) in Geophysical ApplicationsFriday, 21 August 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
W-3: AI Applied to Mining GeophysicsFriday, 21 August 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
W-4: Applying lessons learned from Oil & Gas Geophysics to Energy Transition ChallengesFriday, 21 August 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.; 1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
W-5: Automated Mineral Classification: Transforming Mineralogy into Operational IntelligenceFriday, 21 August 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
W-6: Autonomous Energy Geoscience: Digital Twins, Physics-Informed AI, and Intelligent AutomationFriday, 21 August 1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
W-7: Combined Active and Passive Seismic Monitoring of Subsurface ProcessesFriday, 21 August 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
W-8: Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Elements (REEs): Technologies and other ConsiderationsFriday, 21 August 1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
W-9: Elastic Multi-parameter FWI: Where are we?Friday, 21 August 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
W-10: FWI Hackathon ShowcaseFriday, 21 August 1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
W-11: Geophysical Models of Magmatic and Amagmatic Rifted Continental MarginsFriday, 21 August 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.; 1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
W-12: Key Business and Technology Enablers and Barriers of the Geothermal Industry in 2026Friday, 21 August 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
W-13: Modern Geophysical Inversion: Bridging Physics, AI, and ApplicationsFriday, 21 August 1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
W-14: Optical fibers: What is next? Acquisition, Data, and ProductsFriday, 21 August 1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
W-15: Seismic Signal Processing in the AI Era: Integration or Replacement?Friday, 21 August 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
W-16: Subsurface Integration: What’s Working, What’s Missing, and What Can We Change?Friday, 21 August 1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
W-17: Surface to Subsurface: Drone-Enabled Analog Studies for Reservoir CharacterizationFriday, 21 August 1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
W-18: The Role of Seismic Gathers in the Era of FWIFriday, 21 August 1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.


