Press Information
Stefan Hajek’s article in the “WirtschaftsWoche” magazine describes Eavor’s Closed-Loop system as an underutilized but virtually inexhaustible source of clean baseload energy and describes the system as a means of moving away from niche technologies that are only used in a few regions.
The article looks at the Geretsried drilling site. Fabricio Cesário, the construction site project manager, then discusses the intensive work involved in drilling more than 4,500 meters deep into the foothills of the Alps. Some 280 kilometers of horizontal boreholes penetrate limestone and are interconnected, forming a vast underground heating system. With drilling scheduled to begin in August, the two vertical wells could potentially be connected as early as November.
“…The process has the potential to help geothermal energy make a further breakthrough after decades as a niche technology,” said André Deinhardt, managing director of the German Geothermal Association.
According to the article, heat accounts for 56 percent of total German energy consumption, which is more than transportation and electricity combined. Of the 1,300 TWh of energy consumed in Germany each year, 774 TWh are used for heating homes, with industry accounting for the rest. Much of this heat is currently provided by fossil fuels, which were previously obtained from Russia.
Rolf Bracke, a professor of geothermal systems at the University of Bochum, said the energy has the potential to be a “source of independence” that would eliminate Germany’s reliance on Russian natural gas. Because Eavor’s geothermal energy technology is baseload, it can provide electricity and district heating whenever they are needed, which is particularly in demand during the winter months.
In the context of Germany’s struggle to meet the challenges of decarbonization, Hajek wrote: “So far, deep geothermal energy has only been used on 2 percent of the country’s land area, mainly in and around Munich and on the Upper Rhine.” In Germany, there are only 40 deep geothermal plants, which, with a heat output of 427 megawatts, supply just 1.7 TWh of energy per year – a tiny fraction of the heating demand. We need many more.
