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