Use of geothermal energy for climate-neutral heat supply at KIT (Campus North) – inter- and transdisciplinary co-design of an implementation concept (GECKO)

Project description

Source: Own illustration, based on Wanner et al. 2017

Using the example of geothermal energy, the GECKO project aims to test a new way of infrastructure planning for the production and use of renewable energy that better meets society’s demand for transparency and co-determination than conventional approaches. The purpose is to show how infrastructure projects that contribute to a climate-neutral energy supply can be better aligned with the ideas in society in the long-term. The project will experimentally work out how to develop and effectively apply criteria and scenarios for the use of deep geothermal energy in close cooperation between scientists, citizens, and stakeholders. This is done at the site of KIT Campus North, which is characterized by one of the largest known heat anomalies in Germany with approx. 170°C at a depth of 3 km. Building on the results of the inter- and transdisciplinary research, an implementable concept for the use of deep geothermal energy for climate-neutral heat supply of one of the largest research institutions in Europe will be developed.

The GECKO project consists of three sub-projects. While the Cluster Geoenergy of KIT carries out the scientific and engineering analyses, ITAS and the Öko-Institut e.V. examine the social science aspects. To this end, workshops with actors from the realm of practice and expert interviews are conducted at the local level to identify benchmark criteria and to develop scenarios for the use of deep geothermal energy at the KIT Campus North site. This allows setting priorities and introducing topics that are not represented in the classical scientific approaches. The tasks of ITAS include in particular the preparation and implementation of the workshops and the identification of conditions for success for a long-term use of geothermal energy oriented toward the common good. The findings from this project will be scientifically evaluated and made available to KIT and the municipalities interested in renewable heat supply as well as to decision makers in politics and industry.

For further information on the project please check https://gecko-geothermie.de/gecko-english.

Publications


2022
Presentations
Kuppler, S.; Mbah, M.; Rösch, C.
Demands for participation in renewable energy development in Germany
2022. 20th Annual STS Conference : Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies (2022), Graz, Austria, May 2–4, 2022 
Rösch, C.
Partizipative Gestaltung von Planungs-und Entscheidungsprozessen für Tiefengeothermievorhaben
2022. Dialogforum GeoHardt (2022), Mannheim, Germany, October 27, 2022 
Rösch, C.
Gelingensbedingungen der Wärmewende aus Sicht von Stakeholdern und Bürger*innen – Ergebnisse aus dem GECKO-Projekt
2022. Veranstaltung der TechnologieRegion Karlsruhe Koordinierungsgruppe Geothermie bei der GeoTHERM (2022), Offenburg, Germany, June 2, 2022 
Rösch, C.; Schill, E.
Partizipative Erarbeitung eines Geothermie-Nutzungskonzepts am KIT
2022. KIT Lectures ENERGIE – Forschung. Forum. Fragen (2022), Karlsruhe, Germany, January 25, 2022 
Thrän, D.; Jordan, M.; Rösch, C.; Schill, E.; Groß, M.; Hüesker, F.; Siegfried, K.; Best, B.; Wolf, P.
Gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz der Wärmewende: Aktuelle Forschung, Fallbeispiele und sozialverträgliche Lösungsansätze
2022. FVEE-Jahrestagung "Forschung für die Wärmewende" (2022), Berlin, Germany, October 12–13, 2022 
Science Communication on the Internet
Rösch, C.; Kuppler, S.; Benighaus, C.; Schill, E.
Leitplanken für Tiefengeothermie-Anlagen
2022 
2021
Presentations
Kuppler, S.; Bauer, F.; Benighaus, C.; Krohn, J.; Mbah, M.; Rösch, C.; Schätzler, K.; Schill, E.
Interaktion mit der Öffentlichkeit und gemeinsame Entwicklung von erneuerbaren Energieprojekten
2021. GeoTHERM - expo & congress (2021), Offenburg, Germany, June 24–25, 2021 
Kuppler, S.; Rösch, C.
Geothermie - Wärmegewinnung aus der Tiefe. Partizipation und Akzeptanz von Bürger:innen bezüglich der Umsetzung der Technologie
2021, November 4. fesa e.V. Regionalnetzwerktreffen: Tiefen-Geothermie (2021), Online, November 4, 2021 
Schill, E.; Bauer, F.; Schätzler, K.; Rösch, C.; Mbah, M.; Benighaus, C.; Kuppler, S.; Krohn, J.
Co-production of knowledge: towards a co-design of geothermal heat utilization
2021. European Geosciences Union General Assembly (EGU 2021), Online, April 19–30, 2021 
Schill, E.; Rösch, C.
Klimaneutrale Wärmeversorgung mit Geothermie – inter- und transdiziplinäres Co-Design eines Umsetzungskonzeptes
2021, October 11. Helmholtz Research for Grand Challenges Workshop „Technik und Akzeptanz“ (2021), Online, October 11, 2021 
2020
Presentations
Mbah, M.; Rösch, C.; Kuppler, S.; Krohn, J.; Benighaus, C.; Schill, E.; Schätzler, K.; Bauer, F.
Co-design of an implementation concept for a deep geothermal energy project at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
2020. 8th European Geothermal Workshop (EGW 2020), Online, October 7–8, 2020 

Contact

Dr. Christine Rösch
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS)
P.O. Box 3640
76021 Karlsruhe
Germany

Tel.: +49 721 608-22704
E-mail