GeoHub - Sustainable heat management of near-surface geothermal energy in urban environments

Starting point / motivation

To adhere to the politically mandated climate change mitigation targets, it's imperative to consolidate and extensively implement renewable technologies, especially within urban settings. However, the challenge in densely populated areas is the limited availability of solar energy spaces.

When combined with heat pumps and other renewable or sustainable energy sources, ground heat probes emerge as pivotal technologies for ensuring a sustainable energy supply in carbon-neutral cities. Practical experiences indicate a notable absence or oversimplification of design and operational strategies for near-surface geothermal applications in urban multivalent heating and cooling systems.

This restricts their optimal deployment and configuration. There's a pressing need to revisit and innovate planning and operational processes, testing new solutions in real-world scenarios.

Contents and goals

The gap between planning and operation management must be closed to exploit better the potentials of existing and future geothermal plants and especially to enable sustainable use.

The aim of the GeoHub project is 

1. to establish planning and evaluation tools for geothermal fields by merging geothermal and hydrological conditions and current state maps (information on existing applications), 
2. to develop an integrated thermal subsurface management with sustainable, adaptive, and predictive management strategies taking into account thermal summation effects, and 
3. to transfer to a digital twin designed for real-time operation. 
4. At the same time, improved integration concepts for geothermal energy in multivalent heat and cooling applications will be developed, and evidence will be provided based on techno-economic studies and pilot applications of the developed strategies and processes in model neighborhoods.

Methods

The project is geared towards devising strategies to optimally manage geothermal resources in urban locales, keeping climate protection, sustainability, and resource conservation at the forefront. By leveraging a virtual representation of the real world, with the geothermal field as the central energy pivot, the project aims to formulate and test sustainable, adaptive, and predictive management strategies in model districts.

Additionally, tools are being developed to facilitate the planning of geothermal installations, showcasing the benefits of adaptive management and an optimized system design. This will not only make these insights accessible to specialist planners but also ensure a more streamlined and replicable implementation process.

Expected results

The methodologies being developed are anticipated to revolutionize geothermal planning, becoming an integral component of both the planning and operational phases of installations. Furthermore, these methods are expected to bolster the technical and economic efficiency of both existing and upcoming geothermal installations.

Project management

AEE - Institut für Nachhaltige Technologien

Project or cooperation partners

• GeoSphere Austria - Bundesanstalt für Geologie, Geophysik, Klimatologie und Meteorologie
• BCE Beyond Carbon Energy Holding GmbH
• Kieback&Peter Regeltechnik GmbH

Thomas Ramschak
Feldgasse 19
A-8200 Gleisdorf
Tel.: +43 (3112) 5886-225
E-Mail: t.ramschak@aee.at
Web: www.aee-intec.at