Research network to explore geothermal in Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany
Members of the GeoEnergy Alliance Berlin-Brandenburg, From left: Tomas Fernandez Steger (TUB), Elisa Dunkelberg (IöW), David Bruhn (FH-IEG und BTU), Thomas Neumann (TUB), Ralph Bäßler (BAM), Silke Köhler (BHT), Simona Regenspurg (GFZ und FUB), Felix Schumann (TUB) (source: GFZ)
Carlo Cariaga
18 Apr 2023
Eight research institutions have come together to form a research network with the goal of exploring geothermal resources in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, Germany.
Under the leadership of the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ in Potsdam (GFZ Potsdam) and the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Energy IEG (Fraunhofer IEG) in Cottbus and Bochum, a research network has been founded to explore the potential of geothermal resources in the Berlin-Brandenburg region in Germany.
The newly founded research network is called the GeoEnergy Alliance Berlin-Brandenburg (GEB2). Joining the initiative are eight regionally based research institutions:
- GFZ Potsdam
- Fraunhofer IEG
- Technical University of Berlin
- Berliner Hochschule für Technik (BHT)
- Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW)
- Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg
- Free University of Berlin
- Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)
A kick-off event for the initiative was held on 17 April 2023 and was attended by representatives from the government, public authorities, and industries from the states of Berlin and Brandenburg who are involved in the topic of geoenergy.
As one of the first projects of GEB2, a position paper “Regional heat supply through geoenergy in Berlin and Brandenburg – recommendations on the need for research” is in the works. In addition, the application for a research/demonstration project on deep geothermal energy in Berlin/Brandenburg is being prepared.
“On the path to climate neutrality, the expansion of the sustainable use of geoenergies plays a crucial role. From a geological perspective, there is very good potential for this in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. The first projects are already underway, for example in the field of geothermal energy, where Potsdam’s energy supplier Energie und Wasser Potsdam (EWP) has just drilled boreholes for a deep geothermal plant,“ said Simona Regenspurg, Head of the Geothermal Fluids Working Group in the GFZ Geoenergy Section.
“We want to develop the climate-neutral energy systems of the future. With a holistic research approach, the new alliance enables us to answer the important questions posed to science, not least by practitioners from business, politics, municipalities and authorities. To this end, we will jointly initiate applied research projects on questions that are still open, further develop the technologies and make the know-how gained and available to the decisive actors,” added David Bruhn, Head of the Competence Center “Global Georesources” in Fraunhofer IEG.
Source: GFZ Potsdam
