GEOTHERMICA

A multinational collaboration to strengthen transnational geothermal research and innovation

03.08.2018

GEOTHERMICA is a joint effort by EU Member States and Associated Countries complementing Europe’s research and innovation community and industry sector efforts. GEOTHERMICA aims to support transnational, collaborative innovation projects in geothermal energy through joint calls, to carry out other activities which will enhance the coordination of public research and innovation programmes and to improve the exploitation of results of the projects funded. GEOTHERMICA has selected nine high quality transnational projects on geothermal energy for funding. The total investment in the projects is close to € 50 million. About half is funded by GEOTHERMICA and the other half comes from project partners. Three projects with Swiss partners have been awarded the contract: ZoDrEx, HeatStore and Coseismiq.

Figure 1: Three «pillars» support the growth of the European geothermal sector: industry, research and, as central pillar: public authorities.

Figure 1: Three «pillars» support the growth of the European geothermal sector: industry, research and, as central pillar: public authorities.

GEOTHERMICA aims at direct use and power generation from geothermal resources in an optimized way, which includes integrated and combined systems. There is great potential for the supply of geothermal energy for heating in Europe. Unlocking this potential will be enabled by research and innovation focused on the improvement of technology and its incorporation into the energy system. In this way, geothermal energy (together with underground heat storage) will become one of the key options for the transition towards a 100% renewable heat supply in Europe.

Building on the Integrated Roadmap of the SET Plan, public (EC and Member States and Associated Countries) and private investment must focus on targeted innovation actions to achieve goals in terms of performance and cost reductions. Paramount are an increase in reservoir performance; an improved overall energy conversion efficiency; a reduction of unit exploration, development and production costs of geothermal energy; and the demonstration of the technical and economic feasibility of a successful integration into a modern energy system infrastructure. In order to reach these strategic targets and to increase the contribution of geothermal electricity and heat to the energy mix, technological advance must be supplemented and complemented by factors such as increased social acceptability and mitigation of risks connected to health, safety and environment.

Objectives of the joint call of GEOTHERMICA
GEOTHERMICA’s objective is to combine the financial resources and know-how of 18 geothermal energy research and innovation programme owners and managers from 14 countries and their regions. Together with financial support from the European Commission GEOTHERMICA launched joint projects that demonstrate and validate novel concepts of geothermal energy deployment within the energy system, and that identify paths to commercial large-scale implementation. Europe aims to increase the share of renewable energy for direct heating and cooling, industrial processes, power generation and energy storage.

The overall aim of this collaborative action is to accelerate the deployment of geothermal energy in Europe by:

  • Pooling national and EC funds for research and innovation
  • Focusing on improving business cases for geothermal energy and
  • Establishing a long-lasting strategic collaboration of national geothermal research and innovation program owners and managers of the GEOTHERMICA consortium.

The selected projects have a strong industry participation. They will deliver outcomes by 2021.

This joint effort by EU Member States and Associated Countries will complement Europe’s research and innovation community and industry sector efforts. It will reinforce the sector´s contribution to the goals of the European Energy Union and the implementation of the SET Plan.

Figure 2: The thematic concept of GEOTHERMICA features 3 technological (vertical) and 4 cross-cutting (horizontal) innovation thematic aspects.

Figure 2: The thematic concept of GEOTHERMICA features 3 technological (vertical) and 4 cross-cutting (horizontal) innovation thematic aspects.

Thematic areas
GEOTHERMICA asked for projects typically to advance Technology Readiness Levels 5-9. The projects had to address the following technical thematic areas:

Figure 3: Thematic areas and aims of GEOTHERMICA.

Figure 3: Thematic areas and aims of GEOTHERMICA.

Projects may additionally address cross-cutting themes related to health, safety and environment, as well as social acceptance and policy-relevant aspects.

GEOTHERMICA’s timeline
The timeline of GEOTHERMICA is:

  • February 15, 2017: Preannouncement of the call.
  • April 10, 2017: Call text to be published.
  • July 10, 2017: Due date for pre-proposals (stage 1).
  • September 11, 2017: Invitation to second stage for those pre-proposals that pass stage 1.
  • November 24, 2017: Due date for full proposals (stage 2).
  • April 5, 2018: Notification.
  • May 1, 2018: Signing contracts with new projects.
  • May 1, 2021: Projects close

The individual projects are currently in the phase of the project start. The project websites are not yet online.

Distribution of budget
Funding of € 18 million for the projects comes from existing national and regional research and innovation programmes and is topped-up by a financial contribution from the EC of more than € 6 million. This funding from the European Commission is also distributed by the national and regional funding agencies. National and regional regulations will apply for each country and region participating in the call.

Requirements for the Proposal
Project proposals had to be from European consortia with several partners from several of the participating countries.

Projects needed to assess the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) prior to their work and indicate by how many levels the technology readiness advances in case of a successful outcome of their project. Projects funded by GEOTHERMICA, pilot and demonstration projects as well as technology development projects, should improve business cases based on research and innovation. The projects need to aim at advancing TRLs 5-9, individual sub-ordinated work packages may address lower TRLs. Besides advancing TRLs, projects need to demonstrate the large, untapped potential of geothermal energy, and raise awareness of the benefits of geothermal energy.

Participants had to meet the specifications of the GEOTHERMICA call in addition to the funding rules and regulations of their home countries or regions.

Selected projects
GEOTHERMICA has selected nine high quality transnational projects on geothermal energy for funding. The total investment in the projects is close to € 50 million. About half is funded by GEOTHERMICA and the other half comes from project partners.

The projects cover a broad range of topics such as heat storage, managing induced seismicity, EGS drilling and completion, production operations, composite casing and integrated applications of geothermal heat. They have participants from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Iceland, Ireland, France, Flanders, Denmark, Slovenia, Germany, Spain, Italy and Azores Portugal.

Three projects with Swiss partners have been awarded the contract: ZoDrEx, HeatStore and Coseismiq. Geothermie-Schweiz will present the projects in detail in later newsletters.

More informations about GEOTHERMICA: www.geothermica.eu

 

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