Net Zero Geothermal Research for District Infrastructure Engineering (NetZero GeoRDIE)

Completed

Renewable Energy Sources(Geothermal Energy)

Basic and strategic applied research

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (General Engineering and Mineral & Mining Engineering)
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences)

Not Cross-cutting
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Policy and regulation)

Professor DAC Manning
Civil Engineering and Geosciences
Newcastle University

Standard

EPSRC

01 October 2020

30 September 2024

48 months

£1,276,276

Energy

North East

Energy : Energy

Professor DAC Manning, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University

Dr C Adams, Engineering, Durham University
Mr D Banks, Aerospace Engineering, University of Glasgow
Professor G Falcone, Aerospace Engineering, University of Glasgow
Dr MT Ireland, Sch of Natural Sciences & Env Sciences, Newcastle University
Professor O Pedersen, Newcastle Law School, Newcastle University
Dr M Rouainia, Sch of Engineering, Newcastle University
Dr SL Walker, Fac of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University
Dr R W C Westaway, Aerospace Engineering, University of Glasgow

Project Contact, Schlumberger Cambridge Research Ltd
Project Contact, Geon Energy Limited
Project Contact, South Tyneside Council
Project Contact, Engie (UK)
Project Contact, EnviroCentre Limited
Project Contact, Newcastle City Council
Project Contact, Environmental Agency

The UK is committed to become a low-carbon economy, with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. To do this will require fuel switching, for example from fossil fuel power to renewable energy sources. In the UK the main source of emissions from the residential and public sector in 2018 was the use of natural gas for heating. Due to the diversity of heat demand by consumers, which varies with time/season and in magnitude, no single approach will provide the optimum solution.Geothermal heat has been widely recognised to have the potential to make significant regional contributions to decarbonising heating in the UK, but currently deep geothermal and heat pumps account for just 5.2% of renewable energy sources. This project will investigate the use of closed loop single well geothermal systems as a viable alternative in scenarios where traditional open loop geothermal systems are not feasible. It particularly addresses the possibility of using wells drilled for other purposes, that might have failed in their original objectives, as sources of geothermal energy, thus mitigating some of the costs of their construction. Uniquely, the research will use, in Newcastle city centre, an existing 1.6km deep borehole and adjacent large instrumented building as a research facility, and integrate the research as part of whole energy system approach. Modelling will couple the heating/cooling needs of new urban buildings with an understanding of the performance of a single well geothermal system so that those demands are met.The project will address fundamental challenges in 1) heat abstraction and storage; 2) the engineering challenges of integrating geothermal energy to whole energy systems, and 3) regulatory and legal implications of closed loop systems and subsequent liabilities. The proposed research sets out to mitigate the technical and economic risks associated with deep UK geothermal energy for heating and cooling, and so to facilitate its future adoption to enable zero carbon targets to be reached.

14/09/21