Energy technology dependence: A value chain analysis of geothermal power in the EU

Abstract

The majority of energy used by the European Union has been imported from non-EU countries. The EU desires to increase its own renewable energy use to secure its future energy supply. In this paper, an assessment framework of technology dependence has been proposed that can be used to locate bottlenecks in the value chain of geothermal power generation. The framework consists of an ‘above ground’ and ‘underground’ domain. It was applied to binary Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plants as this type has the highest proliferation potential in the EU. The above ground domain aims to locate potential bottlenecks at a key-component level via a technology hierarchy analysis, company and trade analysis as well as a survey. The underground domain focuses on the potential bottlenecks embedded in the geothermal drilling industry by means of a drilling industry screening, rig screening and a survey. The results suggest that some Binary-ORC key-components may require attention. Furthermore, the geothermal drilling industry's dependence on the oil and gas industry can be seen as a major dependence bottleneck that might jeopardize the future proliferation of binary-ORC technologies in the EU.