Articles

The interplay of Malm carbonate permeability, gravity-driven groundwater flow, and paleoclimate – implications for the geothermal field and potential in the Molasse Basin (southern Germany), a foreland-basin play

The Molasse Basin in Southern Germany is part of the North Alpine Foreland Basin and hosts the largest accumulation of deep geothermal production fields in Central Europe. Despite the vast development of geoth...

Authors: Tom Vincent Schintgen and Inga Sigrun Moeck

Impact of operational temperature changes and freeze–thaw cycles on the hydraulic conductivity of borehole heat exchangers

A large share of the primary energy is consumed to provide space heating. Geothermal energy offers a regenerative alternative. For reasons of efficiency and environmental protection, it is important to ensure ...

Authors: Jan-Henrik Kupfernagel, Jan Christopher Hesse, Markus Schedel, Bastian Welsch, Hauke Anbergen, Lutz Müller and Ingo Sass

Prospects for the application of geothermal resources in agriculture in Poland taking account of the natural functions of the countryside

Agriculture is among the most promising applications of geothermal energy, and Poland has conditions to develop geothermal use in this sector. Suitable locations for agricultural geothermal installations shall...

Authors: Robert Skrzypczak, Beata Kępińska, Leszek Pająk and Wiesław Bujakowski

Correction to: Climate factors influencing effective use of geothermal resources in SE Poland: the Lublin trough

Authors: Bartłomiej Ciapała, Jakub Jurasz, Mirosław Janowski and Beata Kępińska

Monitoring cold water injections for reservoir characterization using a permanent fiber optic installation in a geothermal production well in the Southern German Molasse Basin

Fiber optic sensing has gained importance for wellbore monitoring and reservoir characterization in geothermal fields as it allows continuous, spatially highly resolved measurements. Distributed acoustic sensi...

Authors: Felix Schölderle, Martin Lipus, Daniela Pfrang, Thomas Reinsch, Sven Haberer, Florian Einsiedl and Kai Zosseder

Evaluation of deep geothermal exploration drillings in the crystalline basement of the Fennoscandian Shield Border Zone in south Sweden

The 3.1- and 3.7-km-deep FFC-1 and DGE-1 geothermal explorations wells drilled into the Precambrian crystalline basement on the southern margin of the Fennoscandian Shield are evaluated regarding experiences f...

Authors: Jan-Erik Rosberg and Mikael Erlström

Net-exergetic, hydraulic and thermal optimization of coaxial heat exchangers using fixed flow conditions instead of fixed flow rates

Previous studies optimized the dimensions of coaxial heat exchangers using constant mass flow rates as a boundary condition. They show a thermal optimal circular ring width of nearly zero. Hydraulically optima...

Authors: Tobias Blanke, Markus Hagenkamp, Bernd Döring, Joachim Göttsche, Vitali Reger and Markus Kuhnhenne

Exploratory analysis of machine learning methods in predicting subsurface temperature and geothermal gradient of Northeastern United States

Geothermal scientists have used bottom-hole temperature data from extensive oil and gas well datasets to generate heat flow and temperature-at-depth maps to locate potential geothermally active regions. Consid...

Authors: Arya Shahdi, Seho Lee, Anuj Karpatne and Bahareh Nojabaei

Machine learning to identify geologic factors associated with production in geothermal fields: a case-study using 3D geologic data, Brady geothermal field, Nevada

In this paper, we present an analysis using unsupervised machine learning (ML) to identify the key geologic factors that contribute to the geothermal production in Brady geothermal field. Brady is a hydrotherm...

Authors: Drew L. Siler, Jeff D. Pepin, Velimir V. Vesselinov, Maruti K. Mudunuru and Bulbul Ahmmed

Radiogenic heat production in granitoids from the Sierras de Córdoba, Argentina

One of the most important processes of heat generation from the Earth's interior is the radioactive decay of isotopes. The main hosts of the major radiogenic elements U, Th and K in the crust are granitoids. T...

Authors: M. Pleitavino, M. E. Carro Pérez, E. García Aráoz and M. A. Cioccale

Stress sensitivity of porosity and permeability under varying hydrostatic stress conditions for different carbonate rock types of the geothermal Malm reservoir in Southern Germany

In geothermal reservoir systems, changes in pore pressure due to production (depletion), injection or temperature changes result in a displacement of the effective stresses acting on the rock matrix of the aqu...

Authors: Daniel Bohnsack, Martin Potten, Simon Freitag, Florian Einsiedl and Kai Zosseder

Mechanical zonation of rock properties and the development of fluid migration pathways: implications for enhanced geothermal systems in sedimentary-hosted geothermal reservoirs

Oil and gas operations in sedimentary basins have revealed the occurrence of significant temperature anomalies at depth, raising the possibility of major geothermal resource potential in the sedimentary sequen...

Authors: Oladoyin Kolawole, Ion Ispas, Folarin Kolawole, Christophe Germay and John D. McLennan

Production forecast and estimation of the recovery factor of the Los Humeros geothermal field, Mexico

Production data from the Los Humeros geothermal field in Mexico are used to develop a forecast method for operation of the field in the future. This method supports understanding the limitations of sustainably...

Authors: Héctor González-García, Henning Francke, Ingo Sass and Ernst Huenges

Economic and fault stability analysis of geothermal field development in direct-use hydrothermal reservoirs

The installed capacity of geothermal systems for direct use of heat is increasing worldwide. As their number and density is increasing, the their interaction with subsurface faults becomes more important as th...

Authors: Caroline Zaal, Alexandros Daniilidis and Femke C. Vossepoel

Effect of groundwater forced seepage on heat transfer characteristics of borehole heat exchangers

A system of borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) combined with pumping–injection wells is established in areas where the groundwater is shallow and the seepage velocity is weak. The pumping and injection wells are ...

Authors: Jiuchen Ma, Qian Jiang, Qiuli Zhang, Yacheng Xie, Yahui Wang and Feiyu Yi

Sustainable operation of geothermal power plants: why economics matters

This paper, based on a novel hybrid techno-economic model for geothermal power plants with endogenized plant lifetime, investigates the economic feasibility of a sustainable exploitation of geothermal resource...

Authors: Fynn V. Hackstein and Reinhard Madlener

An online survey to explore the awareness and acceptance of geothermal energy among an educated segment of the population in five European and American countries

Advances in new technologies and the desire to achieve a sustainable and safe energy supply, enable communities to transition from conventional to renewable resources, such as geothermal energy. Perception and...

Authors: D. Balzan-Alzate, J. López-Sánchez, D. Blessent, J. Raymond, C. Dezayes, J. P. Portela, E. Ramírez Restrepo, D. Moreno Rendón, M. Malo, P. Goderniaux, L. Daniele and T. Le Borgne

Evaluation of NaCl and MgCl₂ heat exchange fluids in a deep binary geothermal system in a sedimentary halite formation

Halite formations are attractive geothermal reservoirs due to their high heat conductivity, resulting in higher temperatures than other formations at similar depths. However, halite formations are highly react...

Authors: Kayla R. Moore and Hartmut M. Holländer

Correction to: An efficient hybrid model for thermal analysis of deep borehole heat exchangers

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Authors: Yazhou Zhao, Zhonghe Pang, Yonghui Huang and Zhibo Ma

S-wave experiments for the exploration of a deep geothermal carbonate reservoir in the German Molasse Basin

There are many successful geothermal projects that exploit the Upper Jurassic aquifer at 2–3 km depth in the German Molasse Basin. However, up to now, only P-wave seismic exploration has been carried out. In a...

Authors: Britta Wawerzinek, Hermann Buness, Hartwig von Hartmann and David C. Tanner

Monitoring of a reverse cement job in a high-temperature geothermal environment

Cementing operations in wellbores, especially for long casings, are often challenging and prone to deficiencies when not properly planned and executed. While exploring for and exploiting of geothermal resource...

Authors: Martin P. Lipus, Thomas Reinsch, Tobias B. Weisenberger, Steinar Kragset, Ari Stefánsson and Sigurdur G. Bogason

Modelling an unconventional closed-loop deep borehole heat exchanger (DBHE): sensitivity analysis on the Newberry volcanic setting

Alternative (unconventional) deep geothermal designs are needed to provide a secure and efficient geothermal energy supply. An in-depth sensitivity analysis was investigated considering a deep borehole closed-...

Authors: Hannah R. Doran, Theo Renaud, Gioia Falcone, Lehua Pan and Patrick G. Verdin

Climate factors influencing effective use of geothermal resources in SE Poland: the Lublin trough

Although geothermal resources are practically independent of climate factors, those factors significantly condition the potential use of the Earth’s natural heat resources. Unlike all the other factors limitin...

Authors: Bartłomiej Ciapała, Jakub Jurasz, Mirosław Janowski and Beata Kępińska

Mechanical test of granite with multiple water–thermal cycles

To study the influence of thermal shock caused by water-cooling on the physical and mechanical properties of high-temperature granite, granite was subjected to an increasing number of high-temperature (300 °C)...

Authors: Li Yu, Hai-Wang Peng, Yu Zhang and Guo-wei Li

GaS_GeoT: A computer program for an effective use of newly improved gas geothermometers in predicting reliable geothermal reservoir temperatures

A geochemometric study based on a multi-criteria decision analysis was applied, for the first time, for the optimal evaluation and selection of artificial neural networks, and the prediction of geothermal rese...

Authors: A. Acevedo-Anicasio, E. Santoyo, D. Pérez-Zárate, Kailasa Pandarinath, M. Guevara and L. Díaz-González

A new method for correcting temperature log profiles in low-enthalpy plays

Temperature logs recorded shortly after drilling operations can be the only temperature information from deep wells. However, these measurements are still influenced by the thermal disturbance caused by drilli...

Authors: Sandra Schumacher and Inga Moeck

Hydrochemical and operational parameters driving carbonate scale kinetics at geothermal facilities in the Bavarian Molasse Basin

The majority of scales observed at geothermal facilities exploring the Malm Aquifer in the Bavarian Molasse Basin are carbonates. They form due to a disruption of the lime–carbonic acid equilibrium during prod...

Authors: Bernhard Köhl, Martin Elsner and Thomas Baumann

An open-access stress magnitude database for Germany and adjacent regions

Knowledge of the crustal stress state is important for the assessment of subsurface stability. In particular, stress magnitudes are essential for the calibration of geomechanical models that estimate a continu...

Authors: Sophia Morawietz, Oliver Heidbach, Karsten Reiter, Moritz Ziegler, Mojtaba Rajabi, Günter Zimmermann, Birgit Müller and Mark Tingay

Water–rock interactions in the Bruchsal geothermal system by U–Th series radionuclides

Uranium and thorium decay series disequilibria in deep geothermal brines are a result of water–rock interaction processes. The migratory behavior of radionuclides provides valuable site-specific information an...

Authors: Lena Kölbel, Thomas Kölbel, Ulrich Maier, Martin Sauter, Thorsten Schäfer and Bettina Wiegand

Rippled scales in a geothermal facility in the Bavarian Molasse Basin: a key to understand the calcite scaling process

Mineral precipitates, scales, are wide-spread in geothermal facilities and hamper technical and economic efficiency. Scales reported from earlier studies in the Bavarian Molasse Basin consisted mostly of calci...

Authors: Bernhard Köhl, James Grundy and Thomas Baumann

Classification of geothermal systems in Madagascar

Classification schemes for geothermal energy sources have recently been improved to include the concept of geothermal play. Our comprehensive review for the island of Madagascar aims to enhance the understandi...

Authors: M. Rajaobelison, J. Raymond, M. Malo and C. Dezayes

Hydrogen sulfide removal from geothermal fluids by Fe(III)-based additives

A new method to remove hydrogen sulfide from geothermal fluids during well operation was tested in situ at a geothermal site in Vienna (Austria). For this purpose, ferric iron was added either as granulated ir...

Authors: S. Regenspurg, J. Iannotta, E. Feldbusch, F. J. Zimmermann and F. Eichinger

Predictability and controlling factors of overpressure in the North Alpine Foreland Basin, SE Germany: an interdisciplinary post-drill analysis of the Geretsried GEN-1 deep geothermal well

The North Alpine Foreland Basin in SE Germany is Germany’s most active deep geothermal province. However, in its southern and eastern part the basin is considerably overpressured, which is a significant challe...

Authors: Michael C. Drews, Peter Hofstetter, Kai Zosseder, Vladimir Shipilin and Harald Stollhofen

The potential of coupled carbon storage and geothermal extraction in a CO₂-enhanced geothermal system: a review

The increasing demand for energy makes it difficult to replace fossil fuels with low-carbon energy sources in the short term, and the large amount of CO₂ emitted by fossil fuel combustion increases global warming...

Authors: Yu Wu and Pan Li

An efficient hybrid model for thermal analysis of deep borehole heat exchangers

The deep borehole heat exchanger (DBHE) shows great potential in seasonal thermal energy storage and its high performance efficiency with smaller land occupancy attracts increasing attention as a promising geo...

Authors: Yazhou Zhao, Zhonghe Pang, Yonghui Huang and Zhibo Ma

Solute tracer test quantification of the effects of hot water injection into hydraulically stimulated crystalline rock

When water is injected into a fracture-dominated reservoir that is cooler or hotter than the injected water, the reservoir permeability is expected to be altered by the injection-induced thermo-mechanical effe...

Authors: Anniina Kittilä, Mohammadreza Jalali, Martin O. Saar and Xiang-Zhao Kong

The influence of thermal treatment on rock–bit interaction: a study of a combined thermo–mechanical drilling (CTMD) concept

To improve the economics and viability of accessing deep georesources, we propose a combined thermo–mechanical drilling (CTMD) method, employing a heat source to facilitate the mechanical removal of rock, with...

Authors: Edoardo Rossi, Martin O. Saar and Philipp Rudolf von Rohr

From exploration to operation: research developments in deep geothermal energy

Authors: Alexandra R. L. Kushnir and Markus Loewer

Physical property evolution of granite during experimental chemical stimulation

The Soultz-sous-Forêts geothermal reservoir (France)—in particular, the GPK-4 well—has been proposed as a target for chemical stimulation under the DESTRESS Horizon-2020 framework. With a combination of batch ...

Authors: Jamie I. Farquharson, Alexandra R. L. Kushnir, Bastien Wild and Patrick Baud

THM modeling of gravity anomalies related to deep hydrothermal circulation at Soultz-sous-Forêts (France)

Gravity measurements in the Upper Rhine Graben evidence spatial variations at the regional scale and close to the geothermal sites. They are classically interpreted as linked to the geology. We aim to bring ne...

Authors: Bérénice Vallier, Vincent Magnenet, Jean Schmittbuhl and Christophe Fond

Porosity–permeability relationship derived from Upper Jurassic carbonate rock cores to assess the regional hydraulic matrix properties of the Malm reservoir in the South German Molasse Basin

For the successful realization and productivity prediction of new hydrothermal projects in the South German Molasse Basin, the hydraulic matrix properties of the Upper Jurassic Malm reservoir have to be determ...

Authors: D. Bohnsack, M. Potten, D. Pfrang, P. Wolpert and K. Zosseder

The 3D stress state from geomechanical–numerical modelling and its uncertainties: a case study in the Bavarian Molasse Basin

Knowledge of the undisturbed stress state is a key parameter for borehole stability, productivity and induced seismicity hazard assessment. Due to the sparse and incomplete availability of data records, 3D geo...

Authors: Moritz O. Ziegler and Oliver Heidbach

Reconstruction of geothermal boreholes in Poland

The beginnings of geothermal implementation research in Poland date back to 1989–1993 when the Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences (MEERI PAS) launched the first geo...

Authors: Wiesław Bujakowski, Bogusław Bielec, Maciej Miecznik and Leszek Pająk

Laboratory tests simulating corrosion in geothermal power plants: influence of service conditions

One of the main challenges associated with the operation and maintenance of binary geothermal power plants is the degradation of construction materials. In this sense, it is crucial to apply appropriate preven...

Authors: Ana Vallejo Vitaller, Ueli M. Angst and Bernhard Elsener

Retraction Note to: Predictability and controlling factors of overpressure in the North Alpine Foreland Basin, SE Germany: an interdisciplinary post-drill analysis of the Geretsried GEN-1 deep geothermal well

The authors have retracted this article (Drews et al. 2019) because some data have been used without the appropriate permissions. Additionally, the funding statement is not complete and the authorship is incor...

Authors: Michael C. Drews, Peter Hofstetter, Kai Zosseder, Robert Straubinger, Andreas Gahr and Harald Stollhofen

Crystallization of calcium carbonate in a large-scale push–pull heat storage test in the Upper Jurassic carbonate aquifer

Crystallization of carbonates is a key process affecting the operation of geothermal facilities and aquifer heat storage systems. The crystals formed in an aquifer heat storage test in the Upper Jurassic carbo...

Authors: Martina Ueckert, Carina Wismeth and Thomas Baumann

Optimization of the utilization of deep borehole heat exchangers

Deep-borehole heat exchangers (DBHE) are generally coaxial pipes installed in deep boreholes and has become an alternative approach to utilize geothermal energy. Since the performance of the DBHE system can be...

Authors: Sheng Pan, Yanlong Kong, Chaofan Chen, Zhonghe Pang and Jiyang Wang

Seismicity induced during the development of the Rittershoffen geothermal field, France

The development of the Rittershoffen deep geothermal field (Alsace, Upper Rhine Graben) between 2012 and 2014 induced unfelt seismicity with a local magnitude of less than 1.6. This seismicity occurred during ...

Authors: Vincent Maurer, Emmanuel Gaucher, Marc Grunberg, Rike Koepke, Romain Pestourie and Nicolas Cuenot

Thermophysical properties of surficial rocks: a tool to characterize geothermal resources of remote northern regions

The energetic framework of Canadian remote communities relies on fossil fuels. This has adverse environmental and energy security issues. In order to offset diesel consumption, the search for local, sustainabl...

Authors: M. M. Miranda, N. Giordano, J. Raymond, A. J. S. C. Pereira and C. Dezayes

A multicomponent geothermometer for high-temperature basalt settings

For successful geothermal reservoir exploration, accurate temperature estimation is essential. Since reservoir temperature estimation frequently involves high uncertainties when using conventional solute geoth...

Authors: Lars H. Ystroem, Fabian Nitschke, Sebastian Held and Thomas Kohl