Dusseldorf In the vocabulary of most politicians, the term “eco-heat” has not yet been anchored, criticizes Inga Moeck, Head of the Department of Geothermics and Information Systems at the Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG). In any case, geothermal energy is hardly mentioned in the Easter package recently passed by the federal government for the energy transition. The researcher believes that geothermal energy will play a major role in the future energy market.
The heating sector currently accounts for 56 percent of the energy requirement in Germany. However, only 15 percent of the heat has so far come from renewable sources. According to a report by the Fraunhofer Society and the Helmholtz Association, geothermal energy could cover a quarter of the annual heating energy requirement by 2045. Currently, however, it is only one percent of the need – the Leibniz Institute advises immediate measures.
“In the future, using established technologies, geothermal energy can cover up to 42 percent of the eco-heat for space heating and hot water,” explains Moeck. Moeck sees potential above all in northern Germany, the Upper Rhine Graben and the Rhine-Ruhr region.
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With geothermal energy, energy is obtained from the high temperatures in rock layers and water reservoirs below the earth’s surface. Geothermal energy is therefore one of the renewable energies.
“The heat market was hardly addressed in the federal government’s Easter package,” says André Deinhardt, Managing Director of the Federal Geothermal Association. “The summer package has to deliver here, because there is an absolute need for action.” A large part of the gas from Russia is ultimately used for thermal energy.
In view of the war in Ukraine, Moeck also advocates a quick change of course. “With the war in Ukraine, Germany became really aware of its dependence,” says Moeck. “There is a time conflict: we don’t know how much longer gas can be obtained from Russia.”
For the future, however, the Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWK) wants to take greater account of geothermal energy. “We have not adjusted the geothermal remuneration in the EEG,” said a spokeswoman for the BMWK. “However, we are currently working on plans to do more for geothermal energy, especially in the heating sector.”
In the short term, Germany will have to fill up the natural gas storage facilities to ensure supplies in winter, says Moeck. At the same time, however, Germany must promote the development of the eco-heating sector. “Here, a precise analysis must be carried out as to which energy source is the best for eco-heating. The big advantage of geothermal energy is that it can cover the base load and is renewable.”
Federal Geothermal Association: Demand is increasing sharply
The potential of the energy source does not go unnoticed: According to the Federal Geothermal Association, the demand for geothermal heat has risen sharply in recent months. Deinhardt expects that expansion in the cities in particular will increase rapidly in the near future.
“We now give special geothermal workshops for municipal utilities – last year they could hardly save themselves from inquiries.” It is practical here that most municipal utilities already have district heating networks.
Companies in the geothermal industry are also preparing for the increasing demand. “For decades, geothermal energy fell behind – fossil fuels and foreign imports dominated the market,” complains Horst Kreuter, CEO and company founder of Vulcan Energie Resources. In view of climate change and the war in Ukraine, however, one can no longer afford to forego this potential.
This not only applies to the heat supply, but also to the supply of Germany with critical raw materials such as lithium. Because geothermal energy offers another advantage in addition to thermal energy: Lithium can be transported to the surface via deep geothermal energy and used for the production of batteries – one of the world’s largest deposits of lithium is located under the Upper Rhine Graben in southwest Germany.
With companies such as LG, Umicore, Renault, Stellantis and Volkswagen, Vulcan has already gained strong partners for the purchase of climate-friendly lithium. In addition to CO2-free lithium production, Vulcan Energie Resources also produces renewable heat and electricity using geothermal energy.
However, geothermal energy still has to contend with one problem: its bad reputation. In the past, earthquakes and drilling damage had fueled fears. For example in Staufen im Breisgau. A good 15 years ago, due to a mistake in drilling, water penetrated a mineral layer that has been swelling into gypsum for years, raising the city center and damaging buildings. In Basel, drilling had triggered an earthquake 17 years ago, and some buildings had cracked.
No specific seismic hazard
However, Moeck believes that geothermal energy is wrong to have such a bad image. “Earthquakes are not a problem specific to geothermal energy.” Rather, any type of mining has this risk. “This can also happen when drilling for oil.” In addition, the transported substance, hot water, is harmless and non-toxic. Combustible substances such as oil and natural gas, on the other hand, are much more risky and dangerous.
Nevertheless, the expert advises the use of medium-deep geothermal energy. “There was a risk of earthquakes, especially in geothermal projects with a depth of three kilometers or more.” According to Moeck, there is no tension here that could lead to earthquakes.
Near-surface geothermal energy is particularly suitable for heat expansion in rural areas and districts. “Here, drilling is carried out to a depth of 400 meters – but mostly only about 100 meters deep.”
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Other problems with the energy source are the high costs for deep drilling and a lack of knowledge about the precise potential of the locations. These are not easy to find. First the subsoil has to be extensively technically examined, then the explorations follow.
The potential locations are determined with the help of vibration vehicles that emit sound waves into the ground. The nature of the sound waves can be used to measure where porous rock or water can be found. There you can drill.
The expansion of geothermal energy is expensive and time-consuming. “For medium-deep and deep geothermal projects, for example, between 20 and 40 million euros have to be paid at the beginning,” says Moeck. However, the operation is very cost-effective in the long term and it can then be assumed that green heat will be obtained for 30 to 50 years.
bureaucracy and shortage of skilled workers
However, accelerated approval procedures are also necessary, explains Rüdiger Grimm, managing director of Geoenergie Konzept GmbH and board member of the European Geothermal Energy Association (EGEC).
Geoenergie Konzept was founded by Grimm as a start-up in 2007. “In the years 2005 to 2007 we had a very high oil price and the geothermal industry boomed,” says Grimm. In the years that followed, however, this diminished.
“Gas became cheaper, electricity more and more expensive. This is essential for the operation of the heat pump and geothermal energy.” But after more than 15 years, the trend has changed in recent months. “In April, we received four times as many inquiries as usual,” says Grimm. Geoenergie Concept plans geothermal systems, geothermal test work and optimizes existing geothermal systems.
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The growing geothermal industry currently lacks skilled workers. “It takes up to five years to train as a deep hole driller,” explains Grimm. “This long training period would have to be shortened – and training programs would have to be created.”
The geothermal roadmap from the Helmholtz Association and the Fraunhofer Society also gives clear recommendations for action regarding the required specialists and key technologies. In order to train thousands of skilled workers, however, appropriate academic training and offers from the chambers of crafts, industry and commerce are needed. In return, industry creates regional jobs in technology development, planning and production.
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