Danish national project
Knowledge development for underground thermal energy storage


Danish plant

Concept

The Danish case study will provide important knowledge necessary for the exploitation of the potential for UTES in Denmark and thereby contribute to paving the way for commercial implementation of the technology.

Existing UTES projects in Denmark will be analysed in terms of subsurface conditions, design, system integration and performance evaluation and leassons learned will be translated into general specifications and design for ATES, BTES and PTES systems under Danish conditions as well as contributions to best practice guidelines. A screening for identification of areas with a potential for UTES is currently carried out in the national project “EUDP, 1887-0017, Evaluation of the potential for geological heat storage in Denmark” and the Danish partners will contribute to describing a screening process in HEATSTORE based on available existing subsurface data and heating/energy infrastructure data. Based on this national screening, and a survey of specific interests for UTES in the five Danish regions and among the local district heating companies, more detailed characterization of the subsurface conditions will be carried out in selected areas. The activities will include: detailed characterization of the subsurface conditions based on existing data and 3D geological modelling in specific areas of interest.

New codes and modelling workflows for modelling subsurface dynamics will be tested on a selected Danish case for HT-ATES including development of a desk study pre-drilling scenario. Also models and tools for system integration and optimization will be tested on Danish District Heating networks with existing or planned large thermal storages and business case models developed in HEATSTORE will be tested on selected Danish cases and the results compared with original/existing business case calculations carried out. By contributing with scientific/technical reviews of the activities in the demonstration projects in the partner countries and synthetization of experience and knowledge generated in these, the Danish partners will gain valuable learning and contribute with own experience.

Monitoring activities and evaluation of performance and efficiency of UTES systems are necessary to validate design calculations and calculation tools in order to convince investors and estimate lifetime of projects. In Denmark suggestions for monitoring strategies and plans will be developed for different types of UTES systems (ATES, BTES, PTES) based on the knowledge exchange and cooperation with the other European partners. Performance data from four Danish projects (one BTES and three PTES) will be collected for efficiency evaluation and a desk study of the performance of selected existing ATES systems will be carried out. Existing models for subsurface dynamics and system integration and optimization will be validated using the performance data from the BTES and PTES cases. Also, contributions to strategies for management of uncertainties related to subsurface conditions will be made based on comprehensive experience in geological modelling and modelling of reservoir properties in Denmark.

As part of the dissemination activities in HEATSTORE, GIS maps of the technical future potential for smart and integrated heating networks with UTES in Denmark will be updated with more detailed characterization of selected areas of specific interests. Also, the Danish legislation will be analysed in order to identify potential regulatory barriers against UTES technologies and contributions will be made to a roadmap for the deployment of smart heat grids delivering flexibility to the European energy systems. To support the development of UTES, the Danish partners will support the stakeholder engagement by organizing three national knowledge sharing events in Denmark as well as activities and communication tailored to different relevant target groups and levels.

Partners