Research Projects
I am leading two interdisciplinary drilling technology projects investigating novel solutions for economic exploitation of medium to deep geothermal reservoirs. Further, I am involved in an innovative CCUS project utilizing CO2 storage and geothermal energy production. My overarching goal is to de-risk geothermal energy production by novel subsurface technology making geothermal electricity and heat delivery scalable, widely deployed and economic.
Project Manager AEGIS-CH (2022-2026)
AEGIS-CH (Advanced Geothermal Systems to improve the resilience of energy supply in Switzerland) is an Innosuisse Flagship project with the aim to improve the resilience of the Swiss energy system through the development and integration of Advanced Geothermal Systems (AGS). AGS, consisting of deep, closed-loop wells without any hydraulic stimulation, have the potential to provide decarbonized, domestic and decentralized heat and electric power. This enables firming up an increasingly solar/wind (and thus largely only intermittently available) Swiss energy supply system, supporting the Swiss Energy Transition Strategy (SETS) 2050 as well as UN Sustainable Development Goals. Together with our academic and industry partners, new technology is developed to construct closed-loop AGS and the potential of AGS is explored in the context of the optimal energy mix. This integrated concept leads to essential AGS developments, energy policy recommendations for Switzerland and new energy business models.
Project Manager DEPELOI the HEAT (2022-2024)
Improvement of robust and safe geothermal production at lower costs with advanced directional drilling technology is the goal of the GEOTHERMICA project DEPLOI the HEAT – DEmonstrate Production enhancement with LOw cost sIde-track drilling when accessing geothermal heat in the subsurface for district HEATing.
Construction of multi-lateral wells is well known as an effective concept to overcome the challenges of reservoir heterogeneity by increasing the reservoir contact. However, the drilling costs for these structures are very high and multi-lateral well construction with standard rotary steerable systems is complex. A novel directional steel shot drilling system (DSSD) developed by an industry partner will be trialled in an underground facility and in a live well to assess the operational performance of this slim-hole drilling system. Further, a techno-economic assessment of multi-lateral structures drilled with the DSSD system will highlight the potential for safe-guarding of well productivity and de-risking of geothermal projects. Several operators are involved in this project and the techno-economic assessment will based on their site-specific reservoir models.