Seismic survey completed for novel closed-loop geothermal in Hanover, Germany
Market Church in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany (source: User:Pschemp via Wikimedia Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
16 Apr 2025
Project partners Eavor and enercity have completed a seismic survey in Hanover, Germany, and are planning to start geothermal drilling by the summer.
A 2D seismic survey has been completed in the city of Hanover in Lower Saxony, Germany, mapping out the subsurface to provide the basis for a novel, closed-loop geothermal system that will provide heating to the city. The survey was led by Eavor GmbH, which is executing this project with partner enercity.
With seismic data collection now completed, the project partners are looking towards the start of drilling by the summer of 2025.
Initiated in 2023 with a contract signing between the two project partners, the Hanover geothermal project envisions a 2 x 15 MW facility that will supply up to 250 million kWh of heat for 20,000 homes in the enercity supply area. This will replace part of the heat supply that is currently sourced from a coal-fired plant in Hannover-Stöcken that is due for shut down possibly by 2026 but no later than 2030.
A critical component of the project is Eavor’s signature Eavor-Loop technology, which harnesses geothermal energy without the prerequisite natural permeability or in-situ reservoir fluids. The company is currently working on the first commercial-scale deployment of this technology elsewhere in Germany, near the town of Geretsried. The company has set a target for the first power production from the Geretsried plant by the 1st half of 2025.
Insights from the seismic survey
The recent seismic survey collected data from more than 100 points in 16 days. The new data will complement those from previous subsurface studies, which have already asserted that the site is appropriate for deployment of the closed-loop technology. The collective data will now be evaluated by Eavor to incorporated into their drilling plans.
More information on the project can be found at the official website of Eavor.
Source: Enercity
