GeoLaB: the research infrastructure
The GeoLaB laboratory will be built in the crystalline bedrock of the Black Forest or Odenwald. A tunnel about 1 to 2 kilometers long is planned to provide research access at depths of up to roughly 400 meters.
Crystalline rock is the most common reservoir rock worldwide, which facilitates the transfer of knowledge to new geothermal projects.
Cross-section through the Upper Rhine Graben and the adjacent Black Forest and Odenwald. In these mountain ranges, the deep rock of the Upper Rhine Graben that can be used for geothermal energy has been uplifted by tectonic processes over millions of years. This is where GeoLaB is planned to be built. In this underground laboratory, processes that normally remain hidden deep below the surface can be experimentally studied under controlled conditions and observed in space and time.
An interdisciplinary research platform
GeoLaB is designed to enable interdisciplinary and cross-process research with computer visualization in a fully digitized laboratory. As a digital twin, the Virtual GeoLaB supports planning and experiments, analysis and communication right from the start.
Collaborations with complementary underground laboratories such as Bedretto or the FORGE geothermal research project create important synergies.
GeoLaB supports a CO2-neutral energy future by serving as a nucleus for research and technology development. The research infrastructure aims to interlink science, business, politics and society.
Virtual Geo-Lab
TESSIN VISLab © UFZ
"With GeoLaB, we also want to set new standards for the digitalization of underground laboratories. Virtual reality methods will be used to make the complex processes underground visible and understandable."
Prof. Dr. Olaf Kolditz, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ
A virtual reality concept supports the development of the complex infrastructure concept right from the start. The starting point is the UFZ's VISLab infrastructure.
Virtual GeoLaB as a digital twin of the real laboratory:
- Infrastructure planning and construction
- Planning, execution and analysis of experiments
- Communication and visual analytics.