GeoS | Centre for Geothermal Energy Solutions

GeoS | Centre for Geothermal Energy Solutions Project description for a Centre for Environment-friendly Energy Research

Geothermal energy solutions for a low-carbon future energy supply

e-mail: post@fme-geos.no

User partners

BKK Båsum Boring eDrilling Solutions Cameron Sense Enel Green Power (Italy) Ernst&Young Forsvarsbygg Hordaland Fylkeskommune HS Orka (Iceland) Kunnskapsparken Sogn og Fjordane Landsvirkjun (Iceland) Maritim Forening Norconsult Norhard Norwegian Public Roads Administration Orkuvejta Rejkavíkur (Iceland) Quality Intervention ReNorway Scale Protection Sogn Næring Statoil Stord Engineering West Coast Invest

Research partners

Christian Michelsen Research Sogn og Fjordane University College IRIS IFE NORSAR SINTEF Uni Research University of Bergen (host institution) University of Stavanger

Associated partners

Bergen Technology Transfer Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) GCE NODE Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (Germany) INGV (Italy), ISOR (Iceland) Sandia National Laboratories (USA)

Research Council of Norway’s FME programme The Centres for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME) program aims to • Develop research environments in the international forefront • Increase national innovation and value-creation • Promote CO2 mitigation, energy efficiency and renewable energy • Strengthen technology transfer, international collaboration and research education

FME GeoS – key figures Compliant to FME funding requirements: • Duration: 5+3 years • 9 research partners, 23(+) user partners, 7 associated partners • Substantial industry involvement • Annual budget exceeds 60 MNOK • • •

30 MNOK from the Research Council of Norway > 15 MNOK in in-kind/cash contributions from user partners > 15 MNOK in in-kind contribution from research partners

Geothermal energy • Environment-friendly heating, cooling and electricity generation worldwide • Dispatchable and base-load production • Small land-use footprint

Shallow geothermal Depths down to ca 500 m

Deep geothermal Depths down to ca 5000 m

Shallow geothermal energy / Geothermal heat pumps Status • Heating and cooling for buildings, roads and industrial processes • Worldwide increase of 62% in production from 2010 to 2015 • Norway: more than 300 systems with more than 10 boreholes in use National potential • The national production of geothermal energy from the use of GHP systems for commercial buildings has potential to reach 16.4 TWh/yr1 – worth 13.8 bnNOK/yr in energy savings

1R.K.

Ramstad, Grunnvarme i Norge - Kartlegging av økonomisk potensial (2011). NVE Rapport nr. 5, 2011.

Deep geothermal energy Status • Electricity is produced in 24 countries, amounting to a total of 73.5 TWh/yr based on an installed capacity of 12.6 GWe1 • Direct heating from DGE resources generated more than 0.263 EJ/yr in 2015 • The vast majority of production is from hydrothermal resources.

Potential2 • IEA: by 2050, electricity generation could reach 1400 TWh/yr, which is almost a 20-fold increase from 2015 and avoids 800 Mt/yr of CO2 emissions. Direct heating could reach 5.8 EJ/yr (1600 TWh) • Achieving these targets requires significant research, development and demonstration of innovative technologies 1Bertani,

R., Geothermal Power Generation in the World - 2010-2014 Update Report, Proc.World Geothermal Congress, 2015.

Roadmap, Geothermal Heat and Power, OECD/IEA, International Energy Agency, [online] available at https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/Geothermal_Roadmap.pdf 2Technology

Geothermal energy – National opportunities Geothermal heat pump systems • Heating and cooling for buildings, roads and industrial processes • Interaction with other energy sources • National environment-friendly energy use

Deep geothermal energy • Power production and heat production for direct use • Synergies with the petroleum sector • Market opportunities for national industry

GeoS’ mission

Develop sustainable and commercially competitive solutions for geothermal energy technologies and their integration in the energy system nationally and worldwide

GeoS aims to • be an international hub for expertise in geothermal energy technologies • perform high-impact research that addresses critical challenges related to improved performance and increased application of geothermal energy technologies • enhance innovation and value creation within geothermal technologies for the user partners and promote environment-friendly industries and societies • transfer industrial and academic R&D excellence, knowledge and technology from petroleum to geothermal energy applications • offer an attractive researcher training programme leading to enhanced career opportunities • accelerate research activity throughout the centre period by developing additional national and international joint research projects among the centre partners and associates

GeoS’ approach - 1 Main research tasks form pivot points for organization of activities • Improved design and operation of GHP systems • Reduced cost of drilling and well construction — sustained well integrity and flow assurance • Improved reservoir characterization for evaluation of geothermal sites • Evaluation of potential under uncertainty — reduction of project-specific risks

GeoS’ approach - 2 Research organization based on strong interaction, intersectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration

Project P1.1 P1.2 P1.3 P2.1 P2.2 P2.3 P2.4 P3.1 P3.2 P3.3 P4.1 P4.2 P4.3 P4.4

User partners

CMR HiSF IFE IRIS NORSAR SINTEF UiB UiS Uni BKK eDS Enel FB HFK HS Orka LV NC NH NPRA OR SE SP Statoil WCI

Research partners

WP 1

2

3

4

Figure: Partner involvement in WPs and projects.

GeoS’ approach - 3 Impact through exploitation, communication and dissemination of results, international cooperation and outreach

Image source: www.photosight.org

Organization Board: 8-10 representatives, industry majority and lead General Assembly General assembly Centre Board Centre management Management Team Centre team WP1 WP1

WP2 WP2

WP3 WP3

Research training Training Programme Research programme Communication and and outreach Outreach Programme Communication programme

ISAC WP4 WP4

Centre management team

Centre director Inga Berre Professor University of Bergen

WP1 leader Jan Kocbach Senior Scientist CMR

Vice-director Atle Rotevatn Professor University of Bergen

WP2 leader Erlend Randeberg Senior Research Scientist IRIS

Centre manager Ingunn A. Wergeland University of Bergen

WP3 leader Jan Tveranger Senior Researcher Uni Research

WP4 leader Eirik Keilegavlen Researcher Univeristy of Bergen

Overview of work packages WP1 WP2

Design and operation of geothermal heat pump systems Geothermal well construction

WP3

Geological characterization for evaluating geothermal prospects

WP4

Dynamic processes in stimulation and operation of geothermal reservoirs

WP 1 Design and operation of geothermal heat pump systems Improved design and operation of GHP systems WP leader Senior Scientist Jan Kocbach, CMR Main objective Increased efficiency and reduced cost in design and operation of GHP systems adapted to local conditions Motivation • Large national potential for including GHP systems in flexible energy systems due to their adaptability with respect to extraction and storage of energy • Need for tools and guidelines for both design and operational phase to know when and how to incorporate GHP systems, and to adapt to local conditions Research targets • Optimized energy extraction and storage for large- and medium-sized borehole fields in interaction with complex thermal load profiles • Active utilization of the convective energy contribution from groundwater flow when appropriate • Reliable and cost-effective GHP-based solutions for de-icing roads and bridges

WP 2 Geothermal well construction and flow assurance

Reduced cost of drilling and well construction — sustained well integrity and flow assurance WP leader Senior Research Scientist Erlend Randeberg, IRIS Main objective Reduced well construction cost and improved monitoring solutions for DGE systems, including long-lasting well integrity and flow assurance with respect to scale and corrosion management.

Motivation •

•

Drilling and well construction are based on conventional technologies and represent 30-50% of the total development costs for a conventional hydrothermal plant

Improved solutions for drilling, completion and instrumentation of geothermal wells need to be developed for feasible large-scale extraction of geothermal energy

Research targets • Innovative and cost-effective drilling and well technology for hard, hot and fractured rock, with sustainable well completion • Smart, novel and cost-effective technologies for prediction, monitoring and mitigation of scale and corrosion under the harsh conditions associated with geothermal systems

WP 3 Geological characterization for evaluating geothermal prospects Improved reservoir characterization of geothermal sites WP leader Senior Researcher Jan Tveranger, Uni Research Main objective Improve geothermal site planning, performance-forecasting and risk-evaluation by developing innovative techniques for reservoir characterization, visualization and monitoring.

Motivation • The up-front loading of costs combined with project-specific development risks, such as suboptimal well placements and over-estimation of potential production, are still barriers to industry growth • The potential energy production from different rock types is poorly understood • Transfer of geo-characterization methods and -workflows from the petroleum industry has significant potential to enhance understanding of geothermal reservoirs Research targets • Optimized methods and workflows for integrated geological, geophysical, geo-mechanical and flowfield characterization and for co-visualization and analysis of datasets for geothermal sites • Cost-effective characterization balanced against reduction of project-specific geological risks

WP 4 Dynamic processes in stimulation and operation of geothermal reservoirs Evaluation of potential under uncertainty — reduction of project-specific risks WP leader Researcher Eirik Keilegavlen, UiB Main objective Derive new and improved technologies for geothermal reservoir stimulation and for maintaining long-term sustainable operations, including the development of planning tools for investment decisions Motivation • The practical implications of combined subsurface dynamics are far from understood, and methods for evaluation of potential energy production as well as for risk assessment and mitigation are needed.

• From an investment perspective, it is important to understand how technological uncertainty related to engineering in complex environments combined with uncertain geology should be included in a larger decision-making Research targets • Improved sustainability, risk-assessment and risk-mitigation related to stimulation and operation of geothermal reservoirs • Appropriate tools for decision-making under uncertainty related to investment, development and operation of geothermal facilities