Deep geothermal for heating being explored in Aix-en-Provence, France
Place de la Mairie, Aix-en-Provence, France (source: Rolf Kranz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
15 May 2025
A seismic data acquisition campaign has been done to evaluate the feasibility of deep geothermal for heating in Aix-en-Provence in southern France.
A seismic data acquisition campaign had recently been done in the city of Aix-en-Provence in Southern France as part of exploration efforts for potential deep geothermal resource utilization. The survey covered the streets of both Éguilles and Aix-en-Provence to collect seismic data which will help characterize and identify subsurface geological layers.
The city of Aix-en-Provence is exploring the possibility of deep geothermal to decarbonize its existing heating network, which currently already provides 28,000 residents with heating and domestic hot water. Currently, renewable energy in Aix-en-Provence is exclusively supplied by biomass. The city would like to diversify this, while also increasing the renewable energy rate to 87%.
The city has entrusted ENGIE Solutions with the task of both decarbonizing and expanding its heating network. If the results of exploration efforts are positive, boreholes of up to 2 kilometers depth will be drilled and are expected to extract water at temperatures of around 70 °C. The geothermal heating plant is scheduled to be operational in 2028, and will be located in Constance.
Matthieu Fuentes, Project Manager at ENGIE Solutions, pointed out that the energy mix of biomass and geothermal will be alternated according to the seasons. During the summer period, geothermal alone should be able to meet the heating needs. Thus, there will no longer be any emissions from natural gas during summer.
Majority of the geothermal installations in France are around the Île-de-France region. Geothermal development in Aix-en-Provence may open up an entirely new region for geothermal growth in France, further solidifying its position in the field of geothermal heating.
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Source: Aix-en-Provence and FranceBleu.fr
