Project no.: S-CET-25-1
De-risking Geothermal Heat Extraction from Tight Hot Sedimentary Aquifer
Geothermal energy production in Europe is an important and growing renewable energy source
with the potential to cover a significant share of the energy needs. This requires suitable and
cost-effective exploration and production solutions covering the wide range of geothermal
options available. One of the options that has not yet been targeted in great detail are widely
distributed and generally massive tight Hot Sedimentary Aquifers (HSAs) that occur at variable
geological depth and temperature conditions. They have in common that matrix permeability is
generally low, with flow pathways often defined by fracture networks providing strongly
heterogeneous flow systems. This fracture-controlled heterogeneity poses risks in terms of
practical reservoir utilisation and induced seismicity. GEOGUARD will develop a workflow for
derisking exploration and production of such reservoirs. Technical developments will include
novel
concepts for the characterisation of reservoir properties, the identification of sweet-spots
from seismic data, the evaluation and modelling of uncertainty and risk associated with reservoir
production and stimulation (if required) and the integration of geoscientific/subsurface
engineering considerations into social-economic models, including financing. We will further
develop novel concepts to communicate our findings to regulators, the general public and
stakeholders involved in geothermal operations.
Risks associated with geothermal operations (e.g., costs of project development; risk to people,
environment, infrastructure) remains a major barrier for implementing low-carbon geothermal
energy in Europe at scale. As such, de-risking is key to guarantee financial, regulatory, and
societal buy-in. GEOGUARD will develop exploration and production/stimulation tools to de-risk
tight hot sedimentary aquifers which are a relatively underdeveloped resource from a low carbon
energy perspective.
Project funding:
European Partnership “Driving Urban Transitions to a Sustainable Future (DUT)”
Project results:
TBC
Project documents:
TBC |
Period of project implementation: 2025-12-01 - 2028-11-30
Project coordinator: Kaunas University of Technology
Project partners: TOWNROCK ENERGY LIMITED (TownRock Energy), Scene Connect Limited (Scene), Montanuniversität Leoben (Montanuniversität Leoben), Kaunas University of Technology, University College Dublin
