GO-Forward
Geothermal exploration and optimization through direct modeling and resource development
The GO-Forward project (Geothermal Exploration and Optimization through Forward Modeling and Resource Development), has been one of the proposals selected within the call HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02 (Advanced exploration technologies for geothermal resources in a wide range of geological settings). The project focuses on developing methods to better determine the location, extent, and potential productivity of geothermal reservoirs.
The main objective of GO-Forward is to develop and advance a new combined work methodology to make more accurate predictions of the properties of geothermal reservoirs in the phases prior to the execution of research campaigns (drilling) based on a detailed characterization of the geological processes that lead to their formation and thus reduce the prior risk of the investment.
This "process-based" approach represents a paradigm shift from traditional "data-driven" workflows, as it simulates geological processes, calibrated with geological or geophysical data, rather than extrapolating the properties of these data with traditional geostatistical methods. By using appropriate simulation tools, reservoir properties can be predicted even in areas with low data availability. The three direct modeling approaches that are analyzed in the GO-Forward project combined, address the complete chain of geological processes leading to the formation of reservoirs with geothermal potential in a wide range of geological environments. The three mechanisms identified are: "Stratigraphic Forward Modelling (SFM)" which is used to predict the deposition processes that lead to the formation of sedimentary rocks, the "Diagenetic Forward Modelling (DFM)" which considers the physicochemical processes that lead to the formation, solidification and alteration of rocks during and/or after sedimentation processes, and the "Forward Fracture Models (FFM)" that allows to generate networks of realistic discrete fractures according to tectonic evolution in the geothermal environments that are studied.
Figure 1. Combined workflow of the direct modeling concept proposed in the GO-Forward project.
In addition, the project aims to address citizen awareness about the development and implementation of geothermal exploitation projects from the first stages of exploration, through innovative approaches towards citizen participation and consultation with all stakeholders, with the aim of improving social perception and taking it to a new level in the development of geothermal projects.
The project will develop and calibrate these approaches in areas with abundant subsoil information and production data, demonstrating the applicability of the methods and the reproducibility of the results, to optimize and reduce the risk of geothermal exploration with a radically new and innovative approach.
The consortium is uniquely positioned to propose the implementation of these new approaches to the study of geothermal reservoirs, as it includes experts from several European geological surveys.
Project structure
The project is organized in 5 work packages (WP) around the development, calibration and application of advanced modelling approaches on stratigraphic and digenetic processes and the generation of fractures in geological environments representative of a large part of the European geothermal resources still unexploited today.
The cross-cutting work package (WP5) on public participation supports the three technological work packages (WP2, WP3 and WP4).
Figure 2. Structure of work packages and tasks.
The project proposes a close interaction between the technical developments foreseen in the WP2 and WP3 work packages and their implementation in the WP4 package, from a social perspective, to facilitate citizen engagement as projects are implemented. WP1 includes the part of project management, communication, dissemination and exploitation, which will have the function of coordinating the work packages and the development of the entire project.
ICGC participation in the project
The ICGC will play a prominent role in the GO-Forward project, contributing with its experience and access to case study data located in Catalonia. These cases present uncertainties in the knowledge of the characteristics of the subsoil, but they are similar to other areas in the EU where they already have a much deeper knowledge.
One of the areas with the greatest potential and still little known are the fractured reservoirs deep in crystalline rocks associated with the Vallès basin.
This area will be used as one of the case studies in the project to transfer and apply the workflow and modelling tools that will be developed and implemented in GO-Forward and that will be calibrated in other areas of similar geological characteristics but with a much more advanced knowledge thanks to the availability of a large volume of previous data.
Most of the ICGC effort will focus on WP4 task 4.3 aimed at the application of the tools and methods developed in WP3 for modeling discrete fracture networks in reservoirs in fractured media in the crystal basement. The case study used as a reference case would be located in Cornwall (SO, UK), where the British Geological Survey (BGS) has access to data and experience from the deep geothermal projects being developed. This reference case would be used to adjust and test the algorithms for modeling discrete fracture networks that will be developed within the framework of the WP3 package, complemented by other outcrops where there are data captured from fracture networks that serve as support for the calibration of numerical models: one of these cases would be located in Italy provided by the University of Bari and the other in Catalonia provided by the ICGC in the catalan neogene basins. Once the algorithm for modeling discrete fracture networks, which will be developed within the framework of the WP3 package, is ready, it would be applied in another area, also within the catalan neogene basins.
The ICGC contribution will be allocated to the work packages:
- WP1. Management.
- WP4. WP4. Application of workflow.
- Task 4.3. Application to fractured crystalline basement site (Spain).
- WP5. Public Engagement and Assessment of the Societal Readiness Level.
On the other hand, given that the ICGC is involved in the WP3 Geothermal Energy and Storage inventory work package of the GSEU project, co-leading the implementation of the European Atlas of Geoenergy Resource Capacities, it will also support the publication of the results of the GO-Forward project in the portal 'European Geological Data Infrastructure platform (EGDI) of EuroGeoSurveys (EGS).
GO-Forward at a glance
- Title: “Geothermal Exploration and Optimization through Forward Modeling and Resource Development. GO-Forward”.
- Total budget: 4.570.623,75 €.
- Fund: 4.570.623,75 € (100%).
- ICGC budget: 319.543,75 €.
- ICGC funding: 319.543,7 5€ (100%).
- Start date: september 2024.
- Expected end date: august 2028.
- Consortium: 12 european partners (Germany, Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Italy and United Kingdom).
- Coordination: Fraunhofer Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Systems (IEG) (Germany).
- Web: under construction.
- Programme: Funded by the Horizon Europe programme.
- Reference: 101147618.
Expected results
The solutions and methods developed by the project will be aimed at improving decision-making on the evaluation of the geothermal potential of reservoirs with little availability of previous data.
The workflows developed by GO-Forward will be accessible to stakeholders through a specific GitHub and national GIS platforms, such as the ThermoGIS Geothermal Platform, where users will be able to investigate subsurface data at regional and national scales, as well as reports, analyses, and assessments of the suitability of geological reservoirs, to support the decision whether or not to trigger drilling campaigns. On the other hand, it will reduce risks and uncertainties in the assessment of the geothermal potential of reservoirs and save long processes and unsuccessful drilling for both industry and public authorities.
Finally, GO-Forward will have an impact on science. The current algorithms that predict the properties of reservoirs based on seismic and drilling data will be applied to new datasets and, if necessary, refined. The proposed geological reservoirs, with significant data density, will represent an ideal laboratory for testing process-based modeling tools, and in the future the methods may continue to evolve to improve their predictive capacity.
Funded by
This project has been funded by the EU HORIZON EUROPE program, call HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02 (Advanced exploration technologies for geothermal resources in a wide range of geological settings).