Sunrise Energy Metals has partnered with U.S technology company I-Pulse to deploy its pulsed-power drilling technology in the Millungera Basin, a large-scale geothermal resource in Queensland, Australia.
Under the agreement, I-Pulse will assume operational control and funding of the geothermal project through a technology-driven joint venture structure. It aims to validate and verify it's G-Pulse technology for cost effective deep geothermal drilling projects.
G-Pulse combines pulsed power with conventional drill bits to soften rock while drilling into extremely hard rock formations to access hot granites deep beneath the Earth's surface. Using the technology, Sunrise and I-Pulse plan to advance a technical programme designed to unlock the full geothermal potential of the basin.
The Millungera Basin, located in northwest Queensland about 200km east of Mount Isa, covers a 15,000km² area that lies within the Central Australia HeatFlow Province, a large region of elevated geothermal activity encompassing parts of Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
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It is believed the basin has about 170,000TWh of stored energy – 600 times Australia's 2024 annual electricity consumption.
Sunrise Managing Director, Sam Riggall said: "Early-stage mapping and drilling on two areas of the Millungera Basin by the Geological Survey of Queensland has identified it as one the largest and most prospective geothermal basins on the Australian continent."
By dramatically reducing drilling time and costs while improving efficiency and well performance, I-Pulse says G-Pulse can "unlock geothermal energy resources on an unprecedented scale", accelerating the deployment of clean, reliable baseload power.
"We believe geothermal has the potential to become one of the most important sources of clean, perpetual baseload energy on Earth, said I-Pulse Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Robert Friedland (pictured). "By combining the immense natural heat stored in this basin with our breakthrough pulsed power technologies, we are working toward a future where deep geothermal systems can provide reliable, carbon-free electricity on a global scale."
Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I-Pulse has pioneered the commercial development of high pulsed power systems – a technology with military origins – to transform how electrical energy is deployed. Its proprietary technology generates extremely short, yet extraordinarily powerful, bursts of electricity, delivering immense energy density at a very low incremental cost.
The joint venture with Sunrise is claimed to establish I-Pulse as a major participant in the next generation of large-scale, low-emissions baseload power development, supporting Australia's energy transition while advancing the company's broader mission to unlock geothermal energy resources globally. The structure of the agreement venture allows I-Pulse to control the project while earning up to a 65% joint venture interest in the project.
