Сиэтл хотын Endurance Energy компани далайн ёроолын идэвхтэй галт уулын дулааныг ашиглан турбин эргүүлж, цахилгаан эрчим хүч үйлдвэрлэх анхны туршилтаа амжилттай гүйцэтгэв.
2026 оны есдүгээр сарын 27-нд Орегон мужийн эргээс 480 километрийн зайд орших “Axial Seamount” галт уулын бүсэд уг туршилтыг хийжээ. Далайн гадаргуугаас 1500 метрийн гүнд байрлах “Adélie” нэртэй генераторын тусламжтайгаар 281°C хэм хүрсэн халуун усыг ашиглан турбиныг минутад 26,000 эргэлттэйгээр эргүүлсэн байна. Аравдугаар сарын 19-нд танилцуулсан үр дүнгээр, 8.7 секунд үргэлжилсэн туршилтын явцад генератор нь өөрийн үйл ажиллагаанд зарцуулсан эрчим хүчнээс илүү буюу дунджаар 2 киловатт, оргил үедээ 16.5 киловатт цахилгаан гаргаж авчээ.
Туршилтын үеэр цахилгааны аюулгүй байдлын систем батарейг хамгаалах үүднээс гүйдлийг хязгаарласнаар үйл ажиллагаа зогссон байна. Үүний дараа насосны кабельд доголдол гарсан тул туршилтыг бүрэн дуусгаж чадаагүй аж. Компанийн гүйцэтгэх захирал Эндрю Редд ирэх өвөл 100 киловаттын хүчин чадалтай “Gentoo” нэртэй илүү том генераторыг туршихаар төлөвлөж байгаагаа мэдэгдлээ.
Тус компани нь 2027 онд Тонга улсад анхны арилжааны төслөө хэрэгжүүлэхээр зорьж байгаа бөгөөд одоогийн байдлаар далайн ёроолд 500 метрийн гүнд өрөмдлөг хийх боломжтой шинэ систем боловсруулж байна. Гэсэн хэдий ч энэхүү технологийн үр дүн нь зөвхөн компанийн дотоод хэмжилтэд үндэслэсэн бөгөөд одоогоор хөндлөнгийн шинжилгээний баримт бичиг гараагүй байгаа юм. Мөн ийм төрлийн үйлдвэрлэлийн үйл ажиллагаа нь далайн ёроолын эмзэг экосистемд хэрхэн нөлөөлөх нь одоогоор судалгааны шатанд байна.
Endurance is on a historic run. During our mission to the Axial Seamount, we successfully drilled the world’s first subsea geothermal well and generated net-positive power a mile beneath the Pacific. This mission was the first end-to-end test of subsea geothermal, and our fifth… pic.twitter.com/kc2a7XddiS
— Endurance Energy (@endurancegeo) October 19, 2026
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
An underwater volcano off the Oregon coast has helped generate more electricity than the equipment needed to run. The experiment lasted just 8.7 seconds, but it gave Seattle-based Endurance Energy a first taste of what could be possible with heat coming straight from the ocean floor.
The test took place on September 27, 2026, at Axial Seamount, an active underwater volcano about 300 miles (480 kilometers) off Oregon. Roughly 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below the surface, scorching water escapes through cracks in the seabed, heated by molten rock deep underground.
Endurance Energy wants to put that natural heat to work. Its experimental generator, called Adélie, uses hot water to spin a turbine and produce electricity. The company announced its results on October 19, reporting a brief but successful run in which the generator produced more power than its pumps and other components consumed.
Hidden Ocean Heat Drives High-Speed Turbine
Getting electricity from an underwater volcano sounds straightforward enough: find hot water, use its heat, and run a generator. Doing it nearly a mile beneath the ocean is another matter. Engineers first drilled 16 meters (52 feet) into the seabed and installed a cemented pipe. They found water reaching 260°C (500°F), and it wasn’t flowing fast enough to power the machine.
So the team switched to a nearby natural hydrothermal vent. There, water reached around 281°C (538°F). Thanks to the enormous pressure at that depth, it stayed liquid despite being much hotter than water’s usual boiling point. The turbine eventually reached 26,000 revolutions per minute.
According to Endurance Energy’s October 19 announcement, Adélie generated a median net surplus of about 2 kilowatts, with a peak of 16.5 kilowatts during its 8.7-second run. The entire operation was controlled from Seattle through the Regional Cabled Array, an underwater cable network operated by the University of Washington.
Generator Works, but Test Fails
The experiment didn’t end because the volcano ran out of heat. An electrical safety system protecting the battery kicked in after detecting too much current. About 10 minutes later, engineers tried restarting the equipment, only for a pump power cable to fail.
Endurance Energy is already working on a replacement called Gentoo, a larger generator designed for 100 kilowatts. Speaking to ScienceAlert, company founder and CEO Andrew Redd said:
“Gentoo, Endurance’s next 100kW test generator, is an upgraded Adélie. It deploys this winter and targets higher power and longer runs.”
The company is also preparing a new drill capable of reaching 500 meters (1,640 feet) beneath the seabed, compared with the current system’s maximum depth of 80 meters (260 feet). The goal is to reach underground water flows strong enough to keep a generator running.
Endurance Energy is developing its first commercial project in Tonga, where electricity depends heavily on imported diesel. The company is aiming for first power in 2027. Generating electricity underwater isn’t entirely new, either. A 2016 study in Applied Energy described a Chinese device that continuously produced 2.6 to 3.9 watts using the temperature difference between hot vent water and cold seawater.
But What Happens to Life Down There?
Hydrothermal vents aren’t empty patches of seabed. They’re home to unusual ecosystems where microorganisms get energy from chemicals rather than sunlight. Animals such as tubeworms depend on these microbes, which makes any industrial activity around the vents worth watching closely.
Endurance Energy says it chose a drilling location away from vent chimneys and nearby animals. Its monitoring found no notable changes in marine life during the experiment. The team also sent more than 40 water, rock, and mineral samples to independent laboratories for analysis. But what happens when much larger equipment runs continuously for years?
Redd acknowledged that larger systems could affect surrounding waters, marine communities, and the seafloor habitat. The company says independent researchers are helping investigate those risks.
There’s another limit to the results: the reported electricity surplus doesn’t include energy used for shipping, drilling, or installation. The measurements also come from the company, with no peer-reviewed paper published alongside the announcement.
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