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Focus Group Geothermal Energy

The use of geothermal energy to generate electricity or heat offers great potential for the energy transition. Deep geothermal energy has been a research focus at the German Research Centre Potsdam (GFZ) since many years. Together with the Berlin and Potsdam universities (FUB, TUB, UP), numerous national and international research projects have already been conducted, which deal with geothermal energy from exploration, to reservoir development, and power plant technology.

Although none of these universities offers an independent program or specialization in "geothermal energy", various courses on geothermal energy are already being offered at the universities in the Berlin-Potsdam area (FU Berlin, TU Berlin, and University of Potsdam). The current and planned courses and events are shown on the following pages.

Information sheet
Information sheet training and education (german)

Background

To match the climate goals of Germany an increased use of renewable energy is needed for the heat sector. The use of geothermal energy offers great potential for the energy transition. Unlike other renewable energies, such as wind and sun, geothermal energy offers a baseload, which means it generates continuously energy. Another use of the geologic underground is for seasonally storing heat and cold to bridge the summer-winter cycles. Geothermal energy and its use for power generation or heat supply have been a focus of research at the German Research Centre for Geosciences Potsdam (GFZ) for many years. Together with the Berlin and Potsdam universities (FUB, TUB, UP), numerous national and international research projects on this topic have already been carried out.

Various courses are currently offered on the subject of geothermal energy at the universities in the Berlin-Potsdam region (FU Berlin, TU Berlin, and University of Potsdam).

While at the TU Berlin topics such as reservoir engineering, drilling technology, fluid-rock interactions and geophysical methods represent the main focus, the FU Berlin focuses on geochemical processes and fluid characterization, and at the UP on heat transport processes and temperature distribution in the earth's crust.

Further Information

Participants of the Focus Group: 

The working group is for all interested people, in particular those offering courses in geothermal energy in the Berlin / Potsdam area.

 

Participants

Institute

Dr. Guido Blöcher

GFZ/TUB

Dr. Sven Fuchs

GFZ/UP

Prof. Dr. Hannes HofmannGFZ/TUB

Dr. Ferry Schipersky

TUB

Dr. Thomas Kempka

GFZ/UP

Prof. Dr. Michael Kühn

GFZ/UP

Prof. Dr. Thomas Neumann

TUB

Dr.  Ben Norden

GFZ/UP

PD Dr. Simona Regenspurg

GFZ/ FUB

Dr. Martin Kutzschbach

TUB

Prof. Dr. Oliver HeidbachGFZ/TUB

Prof. Dr. Michael Schneider

FUB

Prof. Dr. Tomas Manuel Fernandez-Steger

TUB

Prof. Dr. Günter Zimmermann

GFZ/TUB

Dr. Thomas WiersbergGFZ/TUB
Mauro CacaceGFZ/TUB
Dr. Egbert JolieGFZ/FUB
Alumni:   PD Dr. Traugott Scheytt
                  Dr. Lutz Thomas
                  PD Dr. Fabien Magri
                  Dr. Thomas Reinsch
                  Prof. Dr. Ernst Huenges

 

 

 

Our objective is primarily to increase the visibility of geothermal expertise in the regional university landscape. The students should become familiar with the topics of geothermal energy and the various courses at the universities in Berlin and Potsdam (UP, FUB and TUB) by an improved coordination and structuring of various courses on geothermal energy.

In the long term, the development of a geothermal curriculum is also planned.

Geo.X Colloquium on Geothermal Energy

When:  24th of January 2020, starting at 1:00 p.m.

Where:  Technische Universität Berlin, building BH-N, room 107

Information sheet:

Flyer Colloquium on Geothermal Energy

 

EGPD 2019

10th European Geothermal PhD Day

(supported by GeoX)

25th to 27th of February 2019 in Potsdam

Further information:

 https://www.geothermalresearch.eu/egpd-2019/

Courses on Geothermal Energy:

Lecturer

Course Title

Venue

Time Frame
Recurrence

Type

Dr. Sven Fuchs,

Dr. Ben Norden

Fundamentals of Geothermics

Uni Potsdam

WSannuallylecture
PD Dr. Simona Regenspurg

Geothermische Fluide

FU Berlin

WS 2020; Wednesday bi-weekly (4 h)annuallylecture and seminar
PD Dr. Simona Regenspurg

Bergbau und Grundwasser

FU Berlin

SS (2020 cancelled due to Corona)SS 2021 (every two years)

seminar

Dr. Egbert Jolie

Hydrothermale Reservoire, Explorations- methoden und Monitoring

FU Berlin

WS/SSannuallydigital lecture – open for download during the semester
Dr. Egbert Jolie

Bodengas- analytik - Datenerhebung, Prozessierung und Auswertung

FU Berlin

WS/SSannually

block course at the end of the  semester, optional online tutorials

Dr. Guido BlöcherRock & Reservoir MechanicsTU BerlinWS, Thursday 12:00-14:00annuallylecture and block course (1 week)
Prof. Dr. Hannes Hofmann

Geothermal Reservoir Engineering

TU BerlinWSannuallylecture and exercise session
Prof. Dr. Hannes HofmannGeothermische EnergiesystemeTU BerlinSSannuallylecture

 

 

Courses that include Geothermal Energy among other topics:

Lecturer

Course Title

Venue

Time Frame
Recurrence

Type

Dr. Thomas KempkaGrundwasser in tiefen geologischen Systemen und ihre Bedeutung für GeoressourcenUni PotsdamWSannuallylecture
Prof. Dr. Michael KühnGeochemie, Materialien der ErdeUni PotsdamWSannuallylecture
Dr. Andreas WinklerGeochemische Modellierung (PhreeqC)FU BerlinWSannuallyexercise session
Prof. Dr. Thomas NeumannGrundlagen der GeochemieTU BerlinWSannuallylecture with tutorials
Prof. Dr. Thomas NeumannAngewandte GeochemieTU BerlinWSannuallylecture and seminar
Prof. Dr. Günther ZimmermannStrömungsmodellierungen und Hydraulische TestsTU BerlinWSannuallyblock course, lecture & modelling