Research for the sustainable and safe use of deep geothermal energy
"With the underground laboratory, we are breaking new scientific ground and taking geothermal energy research worldwide a decisive step further."
Prof. Dr. Oliver Kraft, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
The GeoLaB project aims to enable cutting-edge research into geothermal energy. The aim of the research is the safe and sustainable utilisation of the most important geothermal resources in Germany and worldwide. You can find out more about the research objectives here.
GeoLaB is a research laboratory under the ground to investigate how the energy treasure under our feet can be sustainably tapped and utilised. The research laboratory comprises a horizontal tunnel approximately 1 to 2 kilometres long. You can read about what this could look like and what equipment is required for a research project of this size here. You can also find out more about the research team's plans to build a ‘digital twin’ of the laboratory and what can be done with it.
GeoLaB was launched in 2023 as a strategic expansion investment by the Helmholtz Association. The project is currently in the exploration phase. This includes site selection according to various criteria. You can find out what happens in the exploration phase, what happens afterwards and what steps are planned next here.
In the exploration phase, the Tromm region is scrutinised more closely. Why exactly this region is one of the scientists' favourites and what conditions the site for the GeoLaB research laboratory must fulfil is described here.
GeoLaB is a project of the Helmholtz Association, Germany's largest research organisation. It promotes and finances research in various fields, including energy and the environment. In addition, there are two other research partners:
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is coordinating the project. Helmholtz partners are the GFZ (German Research Centre for Geosciences Potsdam) and the UFZ (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig). From there, scientists from the fields of geology, hydrogeology and geophysics are coming to the region.
The TU Darmstadt and the BGE complete the research network: the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE) is involved as a co-operation partner in order to gain experience in the construction of underground infrastructures. The BGE's involvement ends with the commissioning of the research laboratory. No repository will be built at the actual GeoLaB site. The Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt) is contributing its regional geoscientific expertise to the GeoLaB project.
You can find out more about the people realising GeoLaB here.