The University of Oulu, Centria University of Applied Sciences, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, and Oulu University of Applied Sciences are the partner universities of GTK for this project.
“Geoenergy Leap project aims at promoting a change that raises the level of energy self-sufficiency and security of supply through low-carbon geothermal heat,” says project manager Annu Martinkauppi from GTK.
“This project provides possibility to increase geological and technical knowledge and hence reduce risks related to geothermal projects. Both the possibilities and obstacles related to medium deep geothermal and groundwater energy utilisation must be better recognised in energy sector in Finland,” says Dr. Teppo Arola, Chief Expert in geothermal energy at GTK.
The project improves geothermal heat production, especially as a replacement for peat combustion. The project aims to create better design tools, better sources of data and wider expertise to implement more risk-free and cost-effective geothermal heating and cooling projects.
The main research goals for the project are:
To drill medium deep, 600 to 800 m, geothermal energy wells for R&D purposes in each funding region;
To construct permanent geothermal field laboratories around geothermal wells to facilitate high-level teaching and innovative research;
To developed science-based and cost-efficient modelling and measuring techniques for geothermal industry;
To pilot geothermal heating and cooling possibilities in centralized energy delivery systems;
To decrease drilling risks by detailed geological expertise, especially for proactively identifying weak zones that causes obstacles for drilling;
To provide public knowledge, for example free AI based modelling tool for medium deep geothermal planning, and geological information, including groundwater energy utilisation possibilities for geothermal industry;
To build a digital twin for medium deep geothermal well and compare through simulations to other heating and heat storage solutions.
For more information on the Geoenergy Leap project, please contact Annu Martinkauppi or Teppo Arola.
