EU-funded project explores development of new methods for geothermal exploration
Locations of OBS stations and seismic stations on land in Iceland (source: IMAGE project website)
Alexander Richter
27 Jan 2016
An EU-funded project is exploring new advanced methods for geothermal exploration.
A EU-funded project started in 2013 plans to develop new methods to scrutinize and appraise geothermal systems in such a way that exploration wells can be sited with greater accuracy than before, thereby maximizing the success rate and reducing the cost of drilling associated with geothermal projects. In addition, such precision wells would reduce any potential environmental impact.
New research methods will be tested in well-known geothermal systems, both in continental sedimentary systems in Europe and in high-temperature systems related to volcanism where one might expect supercritical fluids, as in magmatic areas, such as in Iceland and Italy.
IMAGE (Integrated Methods for Advanced Geothermal Exploration) is a European project involving 20 partners from 9 different countries. Goal of the project is to develop an integrated geothermal exploration approach based on state-of-the-art scientific methods. The project is co-funded for four years by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) and started on the 1st of November 2013.
The next IMAGE Technical meeting will be hosted by TNO in Utrecht, The Netherlands, on the 9th and 10th of March 2016.
The MidTerm Conference of the IMAGE project was held in Pisa, Italy on the 12th-13th of October 2015. The programme and the abstract book of the MTC are available on the Meetings page. Outputs and minutes, including the IMAGE meeting on the 14th of October 2015, are expected to be published soon.
Learn more about the project on its website: http://www.image-fp7.eu/Pages/default.aspx
