| Title | The New Geothermal Atlas for Austria – Uncovering the Geothermal Resources for Heating and Cooling |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cornelia Steiner, Martin Fuchsluger, Thomas Fuhrmann |
| Year | 2026 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | |
| Abstract | The new Geothermal Atlas illustrates resources and possible limitations for the use of groundwater heat pumps (GWHP) and borehole heat exchangers (BHE) in Vienna. This web application aims to increase the visibility of SGE as a viable, low-carbon solution for heating and cooling, also in the built environment. The geodata for GWHP includes aquifer properties, the available annual energy content, pumping rate and thermal capacity of well doublets. For BHE, the key properties include soil temperature, subsurface temperature, and thermal conductivity of the subsurface, as well as the resulting annual energy content and the heat extraction rate. The datasets for BHE are available for the entire city area, while those for GWHP are limited to productive groundwater bodies with sufficient data basis. In the web map viewer, a query tool provides a summary of all geodata for any desired location. For BHE, an individual potential assessment on property basis is also available. Based on the selected location and depth of the probes an estimation of the available heat capacity and energy content is provided, including the coverage of demand for any given heating and cooling load. With these data sets and tools, the Geothermal Atlas intends to give a first overview of resources and possible limitations, without replacing detailed planning. It enhances the visibility of SGE, facilitates the planning process and therefore accelerates the decarbonisation of heating and cooling. The expansion of this freely available application to cover all of Austria is work in progress. Link to Geothermal Atlas: https://geothermieatlas.geosphere.at/ |