Joint MUSE – GEOCOND webinar “Novel approaches in shallow geothermal resource mapping”

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G. Goetzl, 5 August 2021

On May 10th 2021, GeoERA MUSE organized a webinar in cooperation with the EU Horizon 2020 project GEOCOND on shallow geothermal resource mapping. Mapping shallow geothermal resources is an important but still challenging exercise when it comes to spatial resolution and adaptability of information provided to end-users. Policy makers prefer large-scale maps, which deliver information in an easily digestible format, anticipated by non-geoscientists as well. Energy planners need to have resource maps translating geoscientific parameters into technical ones. This has partly been achieved for single installations (e.g. borehole heat exchangers – BHE) at typical operational schemes for single buildings. However, appropriate mapping workflows are still lacking when it comes to large scale BHE fields operating at a combined heating and cooling mode.

The webinar consisted of two presentations on mapping followed by a joint panel discussion. On behalf of GEOCOND, Adela Ramos Escudero (University of Cartagena) and Burkhard Sanner (UbeG GbR) presented pan-European maps on geoscientific parameters relevant for designing Borehole Heat Exchangers (BHEs), such as thermal conductivity of the subsurface and annual ground temperature. On behalf of the GeoERA MUSE team, Martin Fuchsluger and Cornelia Steiner (both Geological Survey of Austria) presented the outcomes of an Austrian resource mapping study (project “Green Energy Lab – Spatial Energy Planning”), which based on the application of pre-existing Python based script (pygfunction) that was applied and modified in order to use g-functions for semi-analytic calculations for different BHE patterns and operational modes.

The webinar was attended by 40 participants from more than 20 different countries. For the summary of the webinar please visit the following link. The recording of the webinar can be found at the GeoERA MUSE YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/okN065GKWzM.

About GEOCOND

The GEOCOND project operated from May 2017 to February 2021 with the main objective to develop new and enhanced materials for BHE pipes and grout. Through a cooperation of material scientists, industry and shallow geothermal specialists, substantial improvements in both fields have been made, and the efficiency gains made possible by the advanced materials have been confirmed in a test field and some full-size installations. Mapping on a European scale was key to define the optimum target values for the new materials, and examples of regional mapping in Spain contribute to site design support. GEOCOND was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 727583.

For more information on GEOCOND please visit https://geocond-project.eu/.

Impressions from the webinar

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