On 1 June 2024, the joint project agEnS "Demonstration of an adaptive, multilateral reservoir exploration for geothermal energy for seismicity and cost mitigation in the Upper Rhine Graben" was approved with a total funding amount of 44.4 million euros over a project duration of five years. The funding body is the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) based on a decision by the German Bundestag.
The Institute of Drilling Technology and Fluid Mining at TUBAF has received funding of around EUR 755,000 as a joint partner for the approval of the sub-project "Laboratory and numerical investigations in the near-borehole area" (FKZ 03EXP4006H). The work includes scientific drilling monitoring and the development of a concept for inflow characterisation. Furthermore, the drilling fluid will be analysed in the laboratory for its damage potential, and numerical simulations of the flow conditions in the near-wellbore area will provide recommendations for formation-friendly and economical production.
The main objective of the agEnS pilot and demonstration project applied for is to implement an innovative strategy for the development of a typical geothermal reservoir in the Upper Rhine Graben in the Speyer and Schifferstadt region. The aim is to improve both the economic viability and public acceptance of such projects. The agEnS joint project aims to demonstrate that a pioneering exploration technique, in which several lateral wells are drilled from a main well, can be used to develop the reservoir in a geomechanically and hydraulically optimised way that reduces the risks of induced seismicity and increases the productivity of the reservoir.
The agEnS project is an interdisciplinary joint project involving the company geopfalz, the Institute for Geothermal Resource Management at ITB gGmbH, the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, the Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern-Landau, the Ruhr University Bochum, geomecon GmbH and the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg. Geo-Energie Suisse AG is also involved in the agEnS project as an associated partner and is also to carry out its own research work, financed by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE).
In addition to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the agEnS joint research project as part of the LISagEnS supplementary project with an additional funding volume of around 1.8 million euros, which addresses basic research issues.
Neben dem Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz (BMWK) fördert das Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) das Verbundforschungsvorhaben agEnS im Rahmen des Ergänzungsprojekts LISagEnS mit einem Fördervolumen von zusätzlich ca. 1,8 Mio. Euro, welches Fragen zur Grundlagenforschung adressiert.