Drilling under way for geothermal heating project of Janssen Pharmaceutica, Belgium

With the official launch of the drilling campaign for the geothermal heating project by Janssen Pharmaceutica by Flemish Prime Minister Jan Jambon on the company’s campus in Beerse, Belgium in early December 2019, it is time to share a few more details. Janssen Pharmaceutica is a Johnson & Johnson company.

We previously reported on this ground-breaking project pushed by an industrial player and on the actual drilling start late last year.

The wells to be drilled are targeted to reach a depth of 2,400 metres and will pump water of at least 85 degrees Celsius, which will provide the buildings and business processes on the campus with heat and cooling via a heat network.

Johnson & Johnson has set itself the ambitious goal to obtain 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 worldwide. By 2050 this should have risen to 100%. At the same time the company is targeting a 20% reduction in its CO2 emissions by 2020 and 80% by 2050, making J&J’s investment in geothermal energy in Beerse a highly significant project. In fact calculations have demonstrated that utilizing the earth’s deeply embedded heat would reduce CO2 emissions by 30%.

Janssen Pharmaceutica is the first company in Flanders that fully focuses on deep geothermal energy. Thanks to the deep geothermal project, companies can reduce their CO2 emissions by 30%.

Rig-up of the drilling rig from early December 2019

Source: DVO