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Innovative Bavarian geothermal project secures European funding
15/5/2024
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Union (EU) are backing the roll-out of an innovative power and geothermal heating project in Bavaria.
The EIB is providing about €45mn of funding, underpinned by the European InvestEU-programme, to the Eavor-Loop geothermal heating project in the German state of Bavaria. The project, which has also received a €91.6mn grant from the EU Innovation Fund, will provide low-carbon heating for the town of Geretsried and the surrounding region. The technology also has the ‘potential to be spread to a wider range of locations than conventional geothermal energy’, reports the Canada-based developer Eavor.
The project is co-financed by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), ING Bank and Mizuho Bank. The combined support from the EIB, JBIC, ING and Mizuho amounts to €130mn.
Eavor will implement its closed-loop geothermal technology at commercial scale for the first time. A pilot project, Eavor-Lite, has been operating in Alberta, Canada, since 2019.
The Eavor-Loop system resembles a giant underground radiator. Two vertical wells are drilled to a depth of 4,500–5,000 metres. Then 12 pairs of horizontal laterals, 3,000–3,500 metres long, are drilled from the bases of each of the two wells, for a total of about 90 km of drilling (about 320–360 km for four loops). The giant radiator is then filled with fluid.
The system operates on a natural thermosiphon. The water in the bottom part of the system is heated by the underground rock and rises to the surface where it can be used directly for district heating or to generate power.
The system emits fewer greenhouse gases than conventional geothermal systems because there is no need to reinject new fluids and it does not require the extensive use of pumps, explains Eavor. To operate this system, a specific kind of subterranean rock is needed to maximise the benefit from the materials’ thermal conductivity.
The Geretsried project will provide district heating to local households and businesses. In addition, a power station on site will convert the geothermal heat to electricity. Eavor has already signed an offtake contract with the local heat provider and intends to start heat delivery in 2026, increasing the supply stepwise.
A second project is also being developed in Germany, to supply 15–20% of the demand for district heating in Hanover in the German state of Lower Saxony.
