Project InnerSpace launches collaboration for global heat flow mapping

Project InnerSpace has launched a two-year collaboration with the International Heat Flow Commission (IHFC) and the German Research Centre for Geoscience GFZ, Potsdam (GFZ) to accelerate the Global Heat Flow Database assessment for geothermal analyses. The effort, supported by a global team of scientists, is funded by a $700K Project InnerSpace grant and led by Dr. Sven Fuchs of GFZ, the custodian of the IHFC’s heat flow database.

The collaboration supports the ongoing systematic revision of the Global Heat Flow Database, currently performed by a network of voluntary scientists. Since 2020, researchers have been updating incorrect, inconsistent, and missing data entries according to a new modernized metadata scheme, and categorizing each data entry based on data quality. The 2023 release of the Global Heat Flow Database had recently been published by IHFC.

Project InnerSpace’s support will expand and accelerate these efforts to maximize the database’s potential for geothermal assessment. A majority of work on continental data will be complete by 2024, and work on oceanic data will be complete by 2025. The data will be publicly released by the IHFC after its completion. Concurrently, Project InnerSpace is working with a large technology partner to incorporate the results into a freely accessible spatial platform, the goal of which is to inform and accelerate decisions on advancing geothermal exploration and development.

“The substantial financial support provided by Project InnerSpace enables us to achieve the necessary revision of global heat-flow data much faster, and also facilitates the sustainable development of geothermal energy applications all over the world,” commented Dr. Sven Fuchs of GFZ. “We very much appreciate the strong support for our mission by Project InnerSpace.”

Work will commence in March 2023, funded by the $700K (€ 640K) Project Innerspace grant. The grant supports two full-time scientists and a team of ten collaborating senior scientists, who will act as supervisors for a global network of 10 – 15 students and approximately 25 visiting scientists supported by the Heatflow Fellowship Program.

Funding and supporting this collaboration is one of several initiatives associated with Project InnerSpace’s two-phase strategic plan for catalyzing the deployment and growth of geothermal energy worldwide. The primary objective of Phase I, which this collaboration will support, is to create an interactive global geothermal platform, free and accessible to all, that can inform, de-risk, and accelerate decisions in the early stages of geothermal project development.

In Phase II of its strategic plan, Project InnerSpace will support first-of-their-kind geothermal pilots in strategic locations across the globe. By removing the major barriers to geothermal development by the end of this decade, Project InnerSpace hopes to unlock significant private investment in geothermal projects and accelerate the global energy transition.

“As the world struggles to find a viable path toward a just, abundant, and efficient decarbonized future, geothermal is a beacon,” said Jamie Beard, Project Innerspace’s Founder and Executive Director. “It’s time to go big or go home in building this massive clean energy source beneath us into a major player in our future energy mix. I am excited to support Dr. Fuchs and his supporting global team of scientists to help us push aggressively toward that goal.”

Source: Project InnerSpace