Geothermal Science & Engineering at GSEWe have the vision that TU Delft will become a Knowledge Centre and a global player for Geothermal research and development. We will utilise our expertise and skills to grow a substantial research and educational theme on Geothermal Energy within the Department of Geoscience and Engineering (GSE). We commit to considerably expanding our research infrastructure and capabilities to deliver this vision. The geothermal doublet on campus (DAPwell) will be a unique and integral part of the geothermal research infrastructure. It will add a critical component to the current engagement of TU Delft within the energy transition (e.g. wind, solar, smart grids), as heat makes up ~80% of the energy use in the urban environment.

GS

E Geotherm

al Team

Dr. A

nke Dählm

ann R

esearch supportD

r. Phil Vardon

Theme leader

Prof. D

avid Bruhn

Expertise leader

Prof. David

Bruhn

Deep geo-

thermal

Dr. Phil

Vardon Shallow

geotherm

al

Vacancy (industry-sponsored assistant professor)

Prof. Bill

Rossen

Dispersion

in fl uid and heat fl ow

Prof. Pacelli ZithaFluidfl ow

and geochem

istry

Dr. Paul van

den Hoek

Fluid fl ow and

stimulation

(induced fracturing)

Prof. Kees

Wapenaar

Passive and active seism

ic m

onitoring of geotherm

al fl uid and heat fl ow

Prof. Evert SlobElectro-m

agnetic m

onitoring of geotherm

al fl uid and heat fl ow

Dr. G

uy D

rijkoningen Seism

ic m

onitoring of the heat front

Dr. K

ees W

eemstra

Seismic

interferometric

imaging for

geothermal exploration

and monitoring

Dr. A

uke B

arnhoorn R

ock m

echanics

Dr. K

arl-Heinz

Wolf

Petrophysical analysis

Prof. Giovanni

Bertotti

Structural geology, geom

echanics and fl ow

in fractured reservoirs

Dr. R

ick D

onselaar Sedim

entolog-ical character-ization; co-generation of geotherm

al heat and hydrocarbons D

r. Joep Storm

s Q

uantitativesedim

entology, especially predicting reservoir properties, connectivity and geom

etry

Dr. H

emm

o A

bels Sedim

entary geology, especially porosity, perm

eability, heterogeneity

Dr. D

enis Voskov N

umerical

simulation

of chemical

interactions of the fl uid-rock-installations system

Dr. H

adi H

ajibeygiN

umerical

modelling of

fl ow in fractured

geothermal reservoirs

Dr. Fem

ke VossepoelD

ata assim

ilation of geophysical m

easurements

Prof. Jan D

irk Jansen Interference and optim

al control of neighbouring doublets

Ir. Marco

Keersem

aker, M

BA

HSE in

geothermal

production

Geotherm

al energy

Petrophysics/

Rock m

echanicsFluid fl ow

Reservoir

characterisation

Geophysical

monitoring of

subsurface processes

Modelling,

simulation and control

Health, S

afety and E

nvironment

People With its expertise in subsurface disciplines, GSE is perfectly equipped to address energy related topics that play a key role in the energy transition, such as geothermal energy, CO2 sequestration, and subsurface energy storage. Increasing engagement in research and education of these application areas is seen as a vital development for GSE. The efforts of both experienced and new “geothermal” staff (see organigram on the back page) will lead to an expansion of the related activities, in research and education.

Concrete steps taken: Prof. Bruhn has been re-appointed on a permanent 0.3 fte position. Along with this re-appointment, GSE has fully embraced Geothermal Science & Engineering as a Research Theme that will play a substantial role in its research portfolio. The theme is led by Dr. Phil Vardon and supported by Dr. Anke Dählmann. With Prof. Bruhn, TU Delft has a top-calibre European player in its midst, who will support the growth of the Geothermal capacity.

FacilitiesDAPwell will function as a living lab and be a focal point of our deep geothermal research. It will offer a unique full scale research infrastructure of European relevance, as it provides access to an operating geothermal system. Equipped with a broad range of advanced technologies for monitoring and data acquisition, DAPwell will deliver essential information on processes affecting deep geothermal energy provision. This infrastructure will make TU Delft a key partner for national and international research cooperation, as access to operating, well-characterised geothermal wells is scarce and thus presents a decisive stepping stone for a major advance in the development and understanding of geothermal systems in sedimentary basins. DAPwell will be complemented by high quality field test, laboratory and numerical facilities and serve as a reference case for geothermal developments elsewhere. In addition, TU Delft’s heat management system can be used as a living lab that provides crucial insights into challenges faced.

GSE Geothermal vision document – version 23-10-2017

Current and future facilities• Field test facilities for shallow geothermal operations available

on/near TU Delft campus are the energy pile experiment at the Green Village and an instrumented Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) site at Deltares. The Delft Thermal Grid, implemented by TU Delft’s Facility Management & Real Estate, can also be used as a test bed for integrated thermal heat management.

• Laboratory facilities for heat flow in rocks, fluid flow in rocks, heat controlled mechanical behaviour and geochemical characterisation are available at the GSE Laboratory. A comprehensive geothermal laboratory capability will be established within the current GSE laboratory.

• Numerical facilities include reservoir modelling frameworks and in-house software for thermo-hydro-mechanical analysis, inverse analysis and optimisation.

ResearchThe agenda for geothermal research at TU Delft is driven by the major challenges of upscaling and optimisation of geothermal operations. These include:• Innovative well installations, such as composite casing and

continuous monitoring with fibre optic cables• Geophysical monitoring of travelling fluid and identification of the

cold front with surface and downhole measurements• Investigation of the interaction between geothermal fluids,

reservoir rocks and technical installations. This highly complex issue is a key factor in (un)successful geothermal operations.

• Improvement and validation of the predictive power of flow models

• Topics specifically addressing ultra-deep geothermal engineering, such as exploration, reservoir characterisation and stimulation and fracturing of reservoir rocks

Education In order to provide future perspectives to current and prospective students, we consider it an essential step to expand the course volume on geothermal energy. We are eager to do this not only in our own BSc and MSc programmes of Applied Earth Sciences, but also in the 4TU and LDE context. By doing so, we contribute to a comprehensive programme on renewable-energy (4TU SET course) and a broader view on geo-resources (LDE Minor), including societal, environmental and geo-political aspects. Together, the course work will make TU Delft more attractive and enhance its visibility for (the growing numbers of) students interested in this topic.

Concrete actions in the near future: Starting in the academic year 2018/2019, the MSc programme Applied Earth Sciences will comprise several new courses focussing on Geothermal Energy. The current MSc track Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences will be replaced by a newly designed MSc track on Geo-Energy with a major geothermal component, and Geothermics will also play an increasing role in the BSc programme. In the 4TU SET programme, the Geothermal elective of 4 EC is planned to be scaled up to a 12 EC profile on Geothermal Energy.

Valorisation / FundingGSE has established itself within the most important European research networks in Geothermal Energy and is thus in the position and committed to continue the acquisition of research projects in upcoming EU and Dutch calls. Since 2013, GSE has received grants in this field from both Dutch (Min. EZ/RVO, EBN, STW, Min. BuZa) and European (H2020, ERC) funding schemes, with a project volume of more than 2.5 million.

Concrete opportunities in the near future:• Funding for the research infrastructure of DAPwell is part of

the EPOS-NL proposal to the NWO Roadmap for Large Scale Infrastructure. As a fall-back scenario, the GSE budget of 2018 (and further) foresees to write off the most essential costs for the set-up of well-infrastructure and monitoring (77k€/yr).

• The EU H2020 programme offers many opportunities in the coming years by publishing a call every year for both deep and shallow geothermal projects.

• Two major Dutch programmes that will be launched later this year have a significant scope for research into geothermal heat production: NWO Deep-NL programme, EZ Kennisprogramma Effecten Mijnbouw.

• In addition, we have established excellent cooperation with industry partners (e.g. EBN, Hydreco, Eneco).

Delft CommunityStaff involved in Geothermal (and - in more general terms - in heat management) can be found in several of TU Delft’s faculties and within Facility Management & Real Estate and the Green Office. By involving these colleagues, a broad TU Geothermal community will grow and DAPwell will benefit from the various expertise domains present.

Concrete development: Prof. Jansen and Dr. Dählmann have been appointed by the Delft Energy Initiative as instigators for an inter-faculty Thermal System programme or Institute. This programme shall be set up with the goal to latch on to the upcoming “mission-driven programmes” by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, of which Heat will be one.

International EmbeddingWe are ready to get more staff closely involved in the European Joint Programme on Geothermal Energy (EERA-JPGE) to be connected to the major EU players and to provide input into agenda-setting procedures, e.g. the roadmap of the Strategic Energy Technologies Plan.

Concrete development: Prof. Bruhn is already heavily involved in EERA-JPGE. An MoU has been signed with the EPOS programme, a European ESFRI infrastructure, in order to embed DAPwell as an EPOS Geothermal Test Bed. Being part of this EU programme emphasizes the leading position DAPwell can play as a unique research infrastructure of European relevance, providing access to an operating geothermal system, and substantially enhances its visibility.

TU Delft scientific departments

TU Delft university services

National partners

International partners

Water Management (CEG)

Structural Engineering (CEG)

Delft Centre for Systems and Control (3mE)Process and Energy (3mE)

Algorithmics (EEMCS)

Architectural Engineering and Technology (ABE)

Engineering Systems and Services (TPM)

Multi Acto

r Syst

ems (TPM)

Chem

ical E

ngine

ering

(AS)

Indu

stria

l Des

ign

(IO)

Prop

ulsi

on a

nd P

ower

(AE)

Green O

fficeFacility M

anagement and R

eal Estate

TU Delft Thermal System

s Platform

DAP Foundation (industrial consortium)

Utrecht U

niversity

University of Tw

ente

Eind

hove

n U

nive

rsity

of T

echn

olog

y

Unive

rsity

of G

ronin

gen

Deltare

s

TNO

GFZ Potsdam

ETH Zurich

University of StrasbourgImperial College

Iceland Geosurvey

DTU Copenhagen

Image courtesy: Gilding/DAP, data courtesy: NAM

GSE Geothermal vision document – version 23-10-2017