Projects

Nationals

• 2011-2016 Project Atlante Geotermico delle Regioni del Mezzogiorno (Geothermal Atlas of the Southern Regions) of the Programme "CNR per il Mezzogiorno", with 17 project partners (CNR coordinator and sole beneficiary, agreements with universities and INGV).
  

Results


• Drafting of a Geothermal Atlas for Southern Italy of hydrothermal and non-conventional geothermal resources in 9 Italian regions
  

• Updated database of public data on wells (stratigraphy, chemical-physical parameters) and sources (chemical-physical parameters) in the regions of Southern Italy and geothermal information desk
  

• Detailed analysis of environmental parameters, definition of sustainable management and maintenance criteria
  




• 2010-2014 VIGOR project for the evaluation of the geothermal potential of the Convergence Regions, financed by the Ministry of Economic Development under the POI Energy, line 1.4, with 20 partners (CNR coordinator and sole beneficiary, agreements with universities and INGV)
  

Results


• Harmonization of data concerning the assessment of the geothermal potential of the reference regions
  

• Evaluation of geothermal potential at regional scale in Calabria, Campania, Apulia and Sicily
  

• Geothermal resource assessment in 8 pilot sites and comprehensive project proposals (technological and economic) for their utilisation
  

• Full description of the legislation (national and regional) regulating the installation of geothermal plants
  

• Promotion and dissemination of project activities and products
  

Internationals

• 2020-2025 European project (H2020) LEAP-RE – (Long-Term Joint EU-AU Research and Innovation Partnership on Renewable Energy).
  Ongoing project, will end in december 2025.
  LEAP-RE seeks to create a long-term partnership of African and European stakeholders in the field of renewable energy. Within 5 years, LEAP-RE will support collaborative research and innovation projects, as well as develop renewable energy related innovations directly as part of the project.
  LEAP-RE is based on the expertise of organisations on both continents and from all sectors : government, research and academia, private sector and civil society. Together, they will share knowledge and methods to effectively contribute to fighting climate change while enabling access to clean energy for all.
  The project is articulated in 17 Work Packages. CNR is involved in the WP9, so called "Geothermal Atlas for Africa (GAA)" project with the following activities: task 1) collection of all existing geological-structural, geochemical, geophysical, thermal and petrophysical data necessary for the characterization of the subsurface and African geothermal systems; task 4) use of all information available from the preceding tasks to deliver the Geothermal Atlas for Africa; task 5) creation of links between researchers and institutions in Africa and Europe.

• 2018-2022 European project (H2020) GECO - (Geothermal Emission gas COntrol).
  Ongoing project, will end in September 2022.
  
  

• 2018-2021 European project (H2020) GEOENVI - (Tackling the environmental concerns for deploying geothermal energy in Europe).
  The primary objective of GEOENVI has been to ensure that deep geothermal energy plays an important role in the future of the European energy sector by demonstrating the sustainability of its technologies, developing a strategy to respond to environmental concerns based on the following activities:
  

  • Analysis of environmental impacts and risks of geothermal projects in operation or under development in Europe, and comparison with other energy technologies;
    

  • Definition of a framework for proposing recommendations on environmental legislation to policy-makers and methodologies for environmental risk assessment to project developers;
    

  • Appropriate and comprehensive communication of environmental aspects.

  In addition, the project involved policy-makers and geothermal market actors to promote the legislative recommendations and best practices identified.
  
  

• 2016-2020 European project (H2020) GEMex - Cooperation in Geothermal energy research Europe-Mexico for development of hot enhanced (hot-EGS) and super-hot geothermal (SGHS) systems (H2020).
  The aim of the GEMex project was to deepen the knowledge of non-conventional geothermal systems. In particular, the systems called EGS and superhot were studied in the locations of Acoculco and Los Humeros respectively. Through the application of geological, geophysical, geochemical, volcanological and hydrogeological investigations and numerous laboratory tests, it was possible to characterise the two study areas in great detail. At Acoculco, a fractured zone was identified that could be connected to the existing wells through hydraulic stimulation, so as to make the reservoir more permeable and therefore usable. In Los Humeros, studies have identified a deeper reservoir than the one currently used.
  
  

• 2017-2019 European project (H2020) DG-ETIP - (Support to the activities of the European Technology and Innovation Platform on Deep Geothermal). The project was tasked to provide support to the European Platform on Deep Geothermal by expanding the activities of the Scientific Secretariat for 1) the development of a comprehensive stakeholder group, drawn from industry, research, government (agencies and ministries), and society representatives (non-governmental bodies, sector associations); 2) the preparation of strategic documents (Vision, Strategic Research Agenda and a Technology Roadmap); and 3) contributing to SET PLAN activities regarding the definition of research and innovation policy and strategies.
  
  

• 2015-2018 European project (H2020) DESCRAMBLE - (Drilling in supercritical geothermal condition).
  The aim of the project was to study and drill deep zones of the geothermal field of Larderello, in Tuscany, and to verify the deep chemical-physical conditions in order to assess the possibility of producing electricity and heat from supercritical resources linked to the emplacement of shallow magmatic bodies.
  
  

• 2013-2017 European project (FP7) GeothermalERA-NET .
  With the aim of promoting cooperation between operators and administrators of national research programmes in the field of geothermal energy, the project aimed to coordinate information on geothermal research activities. Technical and non-technical barriers to the development of geothermal energy were analysed, the main stakeholders were identified, research centres and universities providing courses in geothermal energy were catalogued, and topics (8) of transnational interest on which to focus research and funding were defined. Eight joint activities were then set up to deepen and coordinate future actions.
  
  

• 2012-2016 European project (FP7) IMAGE - (Integrated Methods for Advanced Geothermal Exploration).
  A research project dedicated to integrated methods for geothermal exploration.
  
  

• 2011-2013 European project (IEE "Intelligent Energy") GEOELEC - (To Develop Geothermal Electricity in Europe to have a renewable energy mix).
  The main objective was to stimulate banks and potential investors to finance the production of electricity from geothermal sources. GEOELEC produced an action plan towards more electricity production from geothermal sources in Europe, with the aim of doubling the installed capacity of electricity from geothermal sources in Europe by 2020.
  
  

• 2005-2008 European project (FP6) ENGINE - (ENhanced Geothermal Innovative Network for Europe).
  The project was a Coordination Action focused mainly on coordinating research and developing initiatives for EGS systems in Europe, establishing a collaborative network between research institutions and with the participation of industry.
  
  

• 2005-2009 European project (FP6) I-GET -- (Integrated Geophysical Exploration Technologies for deep fractured geothermal systems).
  This STREP was dedicated to geophysical methods for geothermal exploration, as well as research with electromagnetic methods integrated with chemical-mineralogical data.