PUSH-IT project concept
PUSH-IT aims to address the seasonal mismatch between heat demand and heat generation from sustainable sources through underground heat storage. This EU-funded project (Horizon Europe Grant agreement, ID: 101096566 ) seeks to demonstrate the large-scale application of high-temperature heat storage in geothermal reservoirs, employing three different technologies across six sites. The project's primary objectives include the development and testing of mine, borehole, and aquifer thermal energy storage technologies for heat storage and recovery. Additionally, PUSH-IT emphasizes the importance of joint decision-making among citizens, regulators, and operators to enhance social acceptance. The project also focuses on developing enabling technologies to adapt thermal energy storage to various geological conditions and creating an open-source tool to optimize the levelized cost of energy and carbon emission reduction through co-simulation and machine learning.
Darmstadt BTES
In Darmstadt, the PUSH-IT project is centered around the demonstration site for Borehole Thermal Energy Storage (BTES) at the Lichtwiese Campus of the Technical University of Darmstadt. This site features the world's first medium-deep BTES system, comprising three 750 m deep geothermal borehole heat exchangers integrated into the campus's surface district heating grid. The project aims to implement, develop, and test the BTES's capability to store and recover heat in a crystalline medium-deep environment, demonstrating the system's feasibility. Several integration scenarios are being explored, including connecting the boreholes to new buildings' heating grids and extending the BTES field to larger sub-networks, thereby optimizing its contribution to the campus's heating needs.
Work packages
Five different work packages
- WP1 – Demonstration and follower sites
- WP2 – Public engagement, social engagement
- WP3 – Enabling technologies
- WP4 – Dissemination, exploitation and communication
- WP5 – Project coordination
Contact persons
Name | Contact | |
---|---|---|
![]() Picture: Hung Pham
| Dr.-Ing. Hung Pham | pham@geo.tu-... +49 6151 16-22294 B2|02 134 |
![]() | Matthias Krusemark M. Sc. | krusemark@geo.tu-... +49 6151 16-21806 L6|01 13 |
![]() | Max Ohagen M. Sc. | ohagen@geo.tu-... +49 6151 16-25742 B2|02 129 |
![]() Picture: Riachrd van Deursen
| Markus Schedel M. Sc. | schedel@geo.tu-... +49 6151 16-23138 B2|02 129 |
![]() Picture: Lukas Seib
| Lukas Seib M. Sc. | lukas.seib@tu-... +49 6151 16-25675 L6|01 13 |
![]() | M.Sc. Feiyu Wang | wang@geo.tu-... +49 6151 16-20634 B2|01 108 |