| Title | GEO4ALL: Driving the next frontier of geothermal innovation in the Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Authors | D. Jones, R. Vorage, L. J. Heijnen |
| Year | 2026 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | |
| Abstract | The Netherlands has over 15 years of experience in geothermal energy, initially focused on heat supply for the greenhouse sector. Since then, the sector has matured, identifying key challenges around economic viability, predictability and reliability. The Dutch-led research programme GEO4ALL brings together a consortium spanning the entire geothermal value chain including research institutes, operators, district heating companies, drilling and service providers to address these challenges through five targeted research themes: 1.Develop a catalogue of lessons learned and research roadmap to unlock exploitation of medium-depth (500-1500m) geothermal reservoirs crucial for heating applications in urban networks and greenhouses. 2.Address specific challenges and engineering solutions using well optimization applications to improve flow rate in marginal producing reservoirs. 3.Evaluate closed-loop system performance by monitoring borehole heat exchangers (300-1500m depth), focusing on advanced monitoring groundwater flow, soil conductivity and thermal gradients of through to expand the role of ground-source heat pumps in densely populated areas. 4.Monitor and model reservoir cooling and induced seismicity to reduce uncertainty in cold front evolution, doublet lifetime and understand the boundaries of operational parameters (e.g. injection temperature, pressures, seismic hazards and caprock integrity) boundary conditions for all geothermal operations in the Netherlands. 5.Leverage operational data to improve efficiency and reduce operating and maintenance costs of geothermal installations. |