Journey to the center of the Earth: Scientists reveal ambitious plans to drill a tunnel into a volcano's magma chamber – and claim it could unleash UNLIMITED energy

By William On Jan 4, 2024

It may sound like the beginning of a disaster movie, but Iceland could make scientific history by becoming the first country to drill into a volcano's magma chamber.

In 2026, Iceland's Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) project will build a borehole to the magma chamber at the Krafla volcano in the northeast of the country.

The chamber, located between one and three kilometers below the surface, will release unlimited geothermal energy to power Iceland's homes and buildings.

Despite the extreme heat of magma – up to 1,300°C – experts insist it is safe and will not cause another catastrophic volcanic eruption in the country.

“It is the first trip to the center of the earth,” says project manager Björn Þór Guðmundsson.

In 2026, the Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) project will begin construction of a borehole to the magma chamber at the Krafla volcano in the northeast of the country. The chamber, located 2.1 kilometers below the surface, will release unlimited geothermal energy to power Iceland's homes

French volcanologist Katia Krafft wears an aluminized suit and stands near a lava eruption at the Krafla volcano

How does geothermal work?

Regular geothermal systems are an established technology that involves drilling holes into a hot area beneath the Earth's surface.

It shakes underground water to produce steam.

Steam rises, is purified and used to drive turbines, which drive electrical generators.

There may be natural 'groundwater' in the hot rocks, or the plant operators may have to drill more holes and pump water into them.

Iceland already uses geothermal energy – heat generated within the Earth – to power its turbines and generate electricity.

Icelandic geothermal power plants drill wells more than a mile away to extract hot water vapor, which is separated into liquid water and steam in so-called separators.

The steam is then passed through turbines that spin to produce electricity, but these only capture a fraction of the available energy.

Additionally, the geothermal energy is relatively cool compared to steam in a fossil fuel power plant – about 482°F and 842°F (250°C and 450°C), respectively.

“It's quite inefficient at those low temperatures, so there is interest in trying to develop super-hot geothermal energy,” John Eichelberger, a volcanologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, told me. New scientist.

Instead, tapping into the higher temperatures from the magma chamber could lead to a more powerful energy supply.

“The purpose of producing energy from super-hot geothermal sources near magma is that these sources are up to an order of magnitude more powerful in terms of energy production than conventional sources,” Guðmundsson told MailOnline.

'For the same power we can drill one well instead of ten.'

Krafla is one of the most active volcanic areas in the world. It sits atop a tectonic plate boundary, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate meet

Krafla, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, erupted nine times between 1975 and 1984 (the year of the last eruption). Aerial view of Krafla (mountain) and Krafla caldera in 2008

Krafla, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, erupted nine times between 1975 and 1984 (the year of the last eruption).

At the time, scientists were able to use seismometers to determine the location of Krafla's magma chamber beneath the caldera – about 2 kilometers away.

Since the late 1970s, there has been a geothermal power plant in Krafla, run by Landsvirkjun, Iceland's main electricity company.

It has 33 boreholes that tap geothermal energy at the site, but none go to the actual magma chamber.

Drilling to the depth of the chamber is not the problem as other companies around the world are trying much longer drill lengths.

Rather, the question is what will happen to the drilling equipment once it reaches the magma chamber.

In 2009, as part of the Iceland Deep Drilling Project, experts unintentionally drilled into a magma reservoir near Krafla.

But drilling had to be halted after reaching a depth of 7,000 feet, when the drill struck magma and eroded the steel in the well casings.

The episode proved to experts that it was safe to drill into magma without causing an eruption – and possibly with the right tools.

“One of KMT's main objectives is to develop wells with the right materials that can withstand these conditions,” Guðmundsson told MailOnline.

Since the late 1970s, there has been a geothermal power plant in Krafla, run by Landsvirkjun, Iceland's main electricity company (photo)

In 2026, the KMT project will break ground near this original borehole as it begins the journey to the chamber – but it could take two months to get there.

If successful, scientists also want to add sensors to the magma chamber that can take pressure measurements, which could improve eruption predictions.

However, this would require developing sensors that can withstand the intense heat, pressure and acidity of magma.

Other experiments later in the decade could include injecting fluids into the chamber to change the pressure and temperature, and measuring the results.

The insights gained could apply to other active volcanoes around the world, including the Italian 'supervolcano' Campi Flegrei.

Near Naples, southern Italy, Campi Flegrei has become weaker and more prone to cracking, making an eruption more likely, a study revealed last year.

HOW CAN RESEARCHERS predict VOLCAN eruptions?

According to Eric Dunham, associate professor at Stanford University's School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences, “Volcanoes are complex and there is currently no universally applicable means of predicting eruptions. In all likelihood that will never be the case.'

However, there are indicators of increased volcanic activity, which researchers can use to help predict volcanic eruptions.

Researchers can track indicators such as:

Volcanic infrasound: When the lava lake rises in the crater of an open volcano, a sign of a possible eruption, the pitch or frequency of the sounds generated by the magma tends to increase.
Seismic activity: Before an eruption, seismic activity in the form of small earthquakes and tremors almost always increases as magma moves through the volcano's 'plumbing'.
Gas emissions: As magma approaches the surface and pressure decreases, gases escape. Sulfur dioxide is one of the major components of volcanic gases, and increasing amounts of it are a sign of increasing amounts of magma near the surface of a volcano.
Deformation of the ground: Changes in the ground surface of a volcano (volcano deformation) look like swelling, sinking, or cracking, which can be caused by magma, gas, or other fluids (usually water) moving underground or by movements in the Earth's crust due to movement along a fault line. The swelling of a volcano indicates that magma has collected near the surface.

Source: United States Geological Survey