ETH Zurich is a leading international university for technology and the natural sciences and regularly appears at the top of international rankings as one of the best universities in the world. Founded in 1855, ETH Zurich today has more than 20,000 students from over 110 countries, including 3,900 doctoral students. Relevant to DEEP, ETH Zurich has been ranked no. 1 in Best Global Universities for Geosciences by Q.S University Ranking in 2015-2019, and ranked third among the Best Global Universities for Geosciences by U.S. News.
The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich coordinating this project is the leading institution in seismology in Switzerland and the federal office responsible for earthquake monitoring, alerting as well as national hazard and risk assessment. The SED is closely involved in the coordination of integrated risk management for natural hazards as well as the monitoring, characterization and regulatory aspects of induced seismicity. The SED has been and is leading partner in several European and international projects in the field of seismology, induced seismicity risk and multi-risk, and has a leading role in the design and development of next generation seismological hazard and risk assessment as well as data sharing technology. SED plays a leading integrative role in seismology across Europe and hosts the secretariat of EPOS Seismology, ORFEUS and EFEHR. EFEHR, the European Facilities for Earthquake Hazard and Risk is providing access to information on seismic Hazard and Risk harmonized across Europe. The SED has initiated and hosted three major international conferences on induced seismicity in Davos Schatzalp and contributed in the past 10 years more than 60 peer reviewed publications on the topic of induced seismicity. SED is also a core partner in the Bedretto and Mont Terri underground research labs.
Deep geothermal energy projects require enormous capital assets and are bearing high financial risks, especially during the exploration phase. They are comparable with the big pioneering hydro-power-projects in the Alps at the beginning of the last century. Such projects were realized in cooperation with various companies. Based on this awareness, seven Swiss utilities (city utilities of Zürich, Bern and Basel as well as the utilities of the French and Italian speaking cantons of Switzerland) founded Geo-Energie Suisse AG in 2010: the Swiss Centre of Competence for Deep Geothermal Energy for power and heat production. Instead of each utility company having an in-house geothermal expert group and owning projects they share through GES the risk and the costs for the development of deep geothermal energy production. Geo-Energie Suisse AG is based in Zürich and employs ten specialists from the field of geology, geophysics, seismology, environmental and drilling engineering.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world’s most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab’s scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Located next to UC Berkeley, the Lab is part of the stimulating San Francisco Bay Area innovation ecosystem. The Energy Geoscience Division (EGD) of Berkeley Lab is advancing multi-disciplinary expertise to accelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into scalable solutions for the sustainable utilization and management of the Earth’s subsurface. We strive to promote the intelligent use of the subsurface as a substantial resource for energy and water. We work at the cutting edge of observation, measurement, and simulation of rock-fluid processes through the development and use of methodologies that span from the molecular to field scales. At Berkeley Lab expertise on geothermal systems and induced seismicity has a vibrant history spanning more than four decades. LBNL is pioneering novel instrumentation for passive and active reservoir imaging and has been a leader in applying DAS technology to the field.
In order to drive the energy transition forward and to complement the Fraunhofer portfolio, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft founded the "Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Energy - IEG". Essential components of the new facility are the integration of the International Geothermal Centre in Bochum (GZB) into the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the construction of two additional facilities for energy infrastructures in Cottbus and for sector coupling in Jülich. Fraunhofer IEG will also conduct research at the branch offices in Aachen/Weisweiler and Zittau. Currently, there are around 60 employees.
The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) is a statutory corporation established in 1940 under the Institute for Advanced Studies Act of that year. It is an Irish government publicly funded independent academic centre for research in basic disciplines. The Institute has over 100 academic, research and support staff (about 45 in Geophysics) across three sites in Dublin city. DIAS Geophysics Section has subsections comprising theoretical, numerical and observational activities. It also runs the Irish National Seismic Network. The Geophysics section has extensive experience in the design and implementation of bespoke experiments, especially in volcanic environments where its focus has been on ‘triggered’ low frequency seismicity, volcano seismic tremor and volcano source inversions. Recent applications include rapid source inversions using machine-learning approaches. Broader seismological applications in DIAS encompass global Earthquake tomography and a recent focus on local scale seismic imagery using ambient noise for shallow geothermal potential characterisation.
The School and Observatory of Earth Sciences (EOST) is an institution under the supervisory authority of the University of Strasbourg and the CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research) and is responsible for education, research, and observatory activities in Earth Science. EOST hosts more than 160 permanent employees among its staff and is responsible for the education in Earth Sciences of nearly 400 students, offering an engineering school diploma as well as bachelor, masters, and PhD degrees. EOST is the leader of the LabEx «laboratory of excellence» G-eau-thermie Profonde, an internationally recognized research center for deep geothermal energy, whose goal is to improve our understanding of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) and develop techniques for the exploitation of this sustainable resource.
University of Geneva (UNIGE) is the second largest university in Switzerland and has a strong international reputation for the quality of its research and teaching; it ranks among the top institutions in the League of European Research Universities. UNIGE Institute for Environmental Sciences brings together five faculties (Faculty of Science, the Geneva School of Social Sciences, the Geneva School of Economics and Management, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Medicine) to tackle complex environmental issues that cannot be addressed by one discipline. In this Institute, UNIGE Renewable Energy Systems group specializes in renewable energy topics with a diverse range of funding, including Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), international Horizon 2020 projects, and energy utility Services industriels de Genève on geothermal energy.
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is the oldest, largest and most comprehensive university of technology in the Netherlands. It is an establishment of national importance and significant international standing. TU Delft has participated in a large number of research projects under the granting framework of European Union and National Research Fund as both partner and coordinator. The University collaborates on a structural basis with other international education and research institutes and has partnerships with governments, branch organizations, numerous consultancies, industry partners and companies from the small and medium business sectors. The Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CEG) is committed to outstanding international research and education in the field of civil engineering, applied earth sciences, traffic and transport, water technology and delta technology. The research covers global social issues and is closely connected to education as well as the work of a wide range of knowledge institutions. The Department of Geoscience and Engineering conducts a programme for inventive exploration, exploitation and use of the Earth’s resources and subsurface space.
Dutch Association Geothermal Operators (DAGO) is the association for geothermal operators in the Netherlands and represents the collective interests of this industry. DAGO's key priorities focuses on a safe and responsible way of working for people and the environment by developing industry standards in an active dialogue and in collaboration with stakeholders. Members of DAGO cover 100% of geothermal operations in the Netherlands and is therefore a valuable partner in research. DAGO initiates and contributes in various Dutch and EU research projects, with regards to the use of the deep subsurface for heat extraction and related policy frameworks, together with universities and other research institutions. DAGO will contribute to WP5 of DEEP. In WP5 TU Delft aims at providing the best-practice guidelines and protocols for the Netherlands and develop an open-source toolbox for a-priori risk assessment specifically adapted to the national guidelines and protocols. These guidelines, protocols and the open-source toolbox will be regularly discussed and assessed throughout the project with DAGO on applicability, user friendliness, clarity, ambiguity, etc.
DAGO consists of a team of experts on national policies and legislation with ample experience in the field of permitting, environmental aspects, risk assessment and social acceptance. Through its members, DAGO has access to an internal pool (working group) of production and reservoir engineers with 10+ years of experience on geothermal operations.