immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Erdwärme

  • Examination of geothermal potential in the Burgdorf area started

    Examination of geothermal potential in the Burgdorf area started

    According to a press release, Localnet AG and CKW want to examine the potential for utilising geothermal energy in the Burgdorf area. The local energy supplier will contribute its knowledge of Burgdorf, while the Lucerne-based Axpo subsidiary will contribute its experience from ongoing geothermal projects.

    If the review is positive, the two companies want to inform the population about the next steps before the end of the year. “It is very important to me that the population is informed transparently about this project right from the start,” said Mayor Stefan Berger in the press release. “In any case, it makes sense to carefully examine the geothermal potential in our region. This is also in line with the objectives of our ownership strategy of a sustainable energy supply and long-term security of supply.”

    Localnet supplies 11,500 customers in the region with electricity, 2,500 with gas and a further 350 with heat.

  • New technologies for geothermal utilisation developed in Switzerland

    New technologies for geothermal utilisation developed in Switzerland

    Researchers at ETH are fully utilising energy from underground to generate electricity and heat. Several research groups at the university are exploring the possibilities of geothermal energy, the ETH announced in a press release. According to the statement, Switzerland is better prepared for the utilisation of geothermal energy than it was a few years ago in terms of technology, regulations and public acceptance.

    A group led by Stefan Wiemer, Professor at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at ETH and Director of the Swiss Seismological Service, is conducting research in the BedrettoLab on minimising earthquake risks in so-called enhanced geothermal systems. A sensor-supported system monitors the creation of the necessary artificial cracks in which water heats up. The knowledge gained in the BedrettoLab is being utilised in the planning of the geothermal pilot power plant in Haute-Sorne JU.

    The group led by Martin Saar, Professor of Geothermal Energy and Geofluids in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at ETH, is exploring the possibilities of closed raw circuits in which CO2 circulates. These so-called deep closed-loop advanced geothermal systems could be “a climate-friendly alternative to CO₂-intensive reserve gas power plants”, Saar explains in the press release. The group has also already patented so-called CO2-Plume Geothermal Systems. These combine the permanent storage of CO2 in rock with its utilisation for the production of heat and electricity. The storage of process and summer heat from buildings in rock, which can be used for heating in winter, is also being investigated.

  • Venture Kick supports Borobotics with 150,000 Swiss francs

    Venture Kick supports Borobotics with 150,000 Swiss francs

    Borobotics from Winterthur has received 150,000 Swiss francs from Venture Kick for the further development of its innovative drilling robot after reaching the third stage of the programme. In response to the problem of the previously energy-intensive and expensive drilling of holes for geothermal probes, Borobotics is revolutionising geothermal heating processes with a drilling robot that can work in up to 90 per cent less space and at significantly lower cost, according to a media release.

    In addition to the high costs and large space requirements, previous methods bring disadvantages such as energy intensity, inaccuracy, noise pollution and landscape destruction, according to the release. Borobotics describes its development as “an earthworm-like robot that moves vertically into the earth” without a rig or drill pipe. It is intended to enable a much wider spread of geothermal heating.

    Borobotics emerged from a research project at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, according to the release. The start-up wants to invest the 150,000 Swiss francs in several drilling tests of its robot in order to be able to present a functioning prototype at the geothermal energy trade fair GeoTHERM 2024 in Offenburg during demonstration drillings on 29 February and 1 March 2024.