17 Aug 2026

Utah FORGE's 30-day 2024 circulation test produced water at about 370°F

Energy and storage
AI illustration · Illustrative scene, not a photograph of the specific device or experiment.

What was demonstrated

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that a 30-day circulation test at its Utah FORGE site in August 2024 injected cool water at a consistent rate of 10 barrels per minute. The test produced water at roughly 370°F (about 188°C). The DOE update does not report production flow, water recovery or electrical output for that test.

Why it matters

A 30-day circulation test at a research site produced heated water over a full month, which is evidence that the approach can run for that long. It does not show how long such output could be maintained, or what electricity a commercial plant could generate.

Caveats

  • The figures come from an official DOE project update published in August 2026, which describes the earlier 2024 test in passing. The update is not a technical paper on that test.
  • The update gives injection rate and produced temperature only. It does not report production flow, water recovery or net electrical output for the 2024 test.
  • A test of about one month at a research site cannot show long-term thermal decline, water losses or induced seismicity at other sites.

Technology profiles

Sources

  1. government report
    Running Hot, Keeping Cool: FORGE Embarks on Extended Circulation Test
    U.S. Department of Energy, Geothermal Technologies Office, 17 Aug 2026.

Last reviewed 21 Oct 2026.