The drilling cost question in deep geothermal

Germany needs heat that is clean and available around the clock. Deep geothermal can deliver it, and most of that potential sits in hard, crystalline rock. This rock holds almost no water, so a sealed loop draws heat from the rock itself. There is nothing to find, and almost no exploration risk.

What stands between the resource and the heat network is drilling. Conventional drilling grinds through rock mechanically. In hard rock, bits wear quickly, progress slows and costs rise with every meter. In a closed-loop project, drilling makes up nearly the entire investment.

In a new article, Telura CTO and co-founder Andrew Welling explains why drilling cost decides whether Germany can use this resource, and how far conventional drilling can bring it down on its own. He draws on a 2026 study co-authored by Telura's Head of Geology, Dr. Ingo Raufuß. And he shows what changes when rock is broken with lightning instead of ground through.

Read the full article on LinkedIn.

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