Iceland is like Disneyland for geothermal researchers

Agata Rostran Largaespada and Ximena Guardia Muguruza work on the same research team at RU. They have known each other since 2021 and are now focusing on building their company, VarmaMAX, which offers engineering services to geothermal power plant operators to maximise the efficiency and longevity of geothermal energy assets.

Agata is originally from Nicaragua, where she studied electrical engineering, and then she did a master's in renewable energy in Germany. After living in Germany for two years, she returned home and began working at an energy company. She was then invited to Iceland for six months to participate in the GRÓ-Ggeothermal Training Programme.

During this half a year, I fell in love with the country, and when I had the chance to apply for a scholarship to come here and pursue a second master's, I grabbed it and got the scholarship. I completed my second master's at RU in sustainable energy engineering and worked on a project for my master´s thesis under supervision of María Guðjónsdóttir, associate professor at RU. After finishing my master's, I was offered a job at RU as a researcher and have been working here since. Iceland is like a Disneyland for geothermal researchers. If you are really into geothermal, you must come here.

Ximena is originally from Peru, where she earned a BSc in environmental engineering. Following this, she worked as an environmental consultant for private companies and public institutions, including the Ministries of Environment and Education. Her first job was evaluating the environmental and social aspects of a geothermal master plan for Peru, since the country has significant geothermal potential but no operating power plants.

I fell in love with geothermal energy from the start. I thought, how can this technology not exist in Peru, where we desperately need heat and power? That is why I set my mind on finding ways to bring geothermal energy to Peru, and that is how I found the ISE Programme at RU. I put all my savings into it and went for it.

Ximena finished her master's programme in sustainable engineering in 2015 and then returned home, since her dream was to promote geothermal energy there. As the geothermal industry is nonexistent in Peru, she began teaching at various universities to raise awareness of this technology. She continued this until she decided she really needed to focus on research in geothermal energy. She secured a PhD position with María Guðjónsdóttir, who was forming a group to work on the Geoejector project. She has now been working on that project for 4 years. Agata explains that Nicaragua has two operating power plants, mostly for electricity production, since heating is not as essential there as in Iceland.

Innovative solutions

Their research focuses on designing innovative solutions for managing geothermal reservoirs and on technologies to enhance efficiency and sustainability in geothermal areas. Agata’s research focuses on real-time monitoring of geothermal wells.

At this point, we have developed the model, but we are still validating it. This is only possible through industry-based experiments, and we are so fortunate to be collaborating with Landsvirkjun. Further experiments are ongoing to validate the model, after which it will demonstrate strong proof of concept for real-time well monitoring. The code is already protected under copyright.Ximena’s research began in 2022 and has comprised lab tests at RU and field tests at the Theistareykir power plant in the North of Iceland.

Says Agata, and then Ximena explains her half of the research.

My research involves designing and testing ejector equipment to pump fluid from low-pressure geothermal wells. We have now completed all the tests at the laboratory scale in RU and two rounds of tests at a medium scale in the North of Iceland; both times it worked, and I am very happy about that. We also applied for a patent in December last year. The plan is to continue the tests and try to put a full-scale ejector in the power plant this year, which is also very exciting.

Constant need for more energy

Ximena says she feels like we live in an era when so many people around the world need a lot of energy.

We are trying to create solutions that produce more energy sustainably, because there are so many of us, so we need to use our resources wisely. Basically, what we're trying to do is optimize power production with the equipment that we currently have, produce more energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The infrastructure and equipment needed to drill new wells are very expensive. Our solutions can avoid those costs, so the money saved can be used for other purposes, like health or other necessities.

She says, adding that she is trying her best to push geothermal energy in Peru. The idea is to start small, for example, installing geothermal heat pumps in isolated areas of the highlands in Peru, where it can get very cold, with temperatures like those in Iceland. The problem is that there is geothermal heat under people's feet, but they need the technology to use it.

Together, Ximena and Agata have established the company VarmaMAX, which recently received 20 million ISK from the Sproti Grant of the Technology Development Fund (Tækniþróunarsjóður). This fund will enable them to further build their company and conduct their research in close cooperation with Landsvirkjun and RU.