Thermal Testing and Pumping System for Geothermal Energy Recovery
Following an initial basis of design by Petrofac on behalf of CeraPhi Energy, Calder has been awarded the design and manufacturing of the first CeraPhiTru unit. The project design has now begun in earnest on this thermal testing and pumping system for geothermal energy recovery. Our customer is CeraPhi Energy, a clean energy solutions company who are a part of our drive towards net zero. CeraPhi develops proprietary technology to significantly de-risk the delivery of geothermal projects.
This project further enhances our presence in the renewable energy sector.
Kick-off Meeting
We were delighted to welcome Iain Pittman, Chief Technology Officer and Richard Jenkins, Projects & Proposals Manager of CeraPhi Energy to our Worcester factory. They were here to kick-off the project with our Jim McNicol, Business Development Manager, and Sean Greenow-Langford, Project Manager, supported by the Calder engineering team. The visit was a good opportunity for our engineering team and the customer to meet in person. And let’s not forget the customary factory tour!
Iain Pittman commented, “Having previously worked with the team at Calder on cutting-edge projects, I know the quality and dedication of the highly skilled team.”

The Project
The project covers the design, manufacture and testing of a thermal testing, pumping and control system. This pump forms part of a closed loop, downhole heat exchanger system for a geothermal heating unit. Water will travel through pipework into the well where the sub-surface, geothermal heat will heat the water. Then the water will continue its journey back to the surface where a heat recovery system will extract the heat from the water. Lastly, the water passes through the pump and heads, once again, underground.
Calder’s 40 years of experience in the design of bespoke pump packages makes us the ideal partner for this project. We will carry out all design, assembly and testing at our factory in Worcester. Calder Managing Director, Lee Watkins said, “Calder has a long history of delivering quality bespoke pumping packages for a variety of applications, and our experience lends itself well to Geothermal Energy solutions. It is great to be working with the CeraPhi team on this innovative solution, within the growing renewable energy market. We look forward to continuing to support them in their journey towards net zero.”
The Pump Package
The package will have a vertically mounted pump which minimizes the footprint. The pump is particularly reliable and benefits from long service intervals. As such, the unit’s lifetime operating costs are kept to a minimum. An electric motor will power the pump.
A 20ft container will house both the pump unit and the control room. This will protect the equipment from the elements, and offer significant package noise reduction. Additionally, we shall ensure low noise levels around the unit by lining the inner container walls with acoustic panels.
An integral control room within the container will accommodate the VSD and a HMI control screen. The control system is user-friendly and includes a fault shutdown facility and data logging. As is usual with our pump units, a suite of pressure and temperature transmitters feeds information back to the control system, giving maximum data acquisition potential.
Geothermal Energy
The use of geothermal energy is almost as old as the hills and is still used to this day. Think of the hot springs of Japan and Iceland. How about the ground source heat pumps being installed in gardens in ever-greater numbers today?
Ongoing radioactive activity due to the decay of materials in the earth’s core generates heat and, because of this, geothermal energy is renewable. It is certainly long lasting. In fact, some estimates suggest the sun will fail before geothermal energy. Other sources predict that geothermal energy will last as long as the earth itself.
Another huge advantage of geothermal energy is that it is not dependant on the weather. As such, it is a constant source of energy, known as a baseload energy. In other words, it’s always ‘on’!
The CeraphiTru Solution
The Ceraphi geothermal solution is industrial-scale harvesting of the heat below our feet to provide heating to homes and industry. The drilling of wells to extract the heat is a venture where success is not always guaranteed. However, the design of Ceraphi’s heat exchanger system makes it ideal for use with redundant oil wells. Significantly, this removes the risk and utilises existing, re-purposed wells.
Get in Touch
Please call to discuss how we can help with your renewable energy projects on +44 1905 751790 or email sales@calder.co.uk.
Or check out our history and capabilities.
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- A successful show and a purchase order to boot!
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