EGPD's Initiative

Europe is transitioning towards cleaner energy resources to establish a sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy system. Geothermal is critical for this transition since it provides a flexible baseload renewable source of energy. The challenges of sustainable geothermal operations require an interdisciplinary approach. Combining geoscientific and engineering solutions is essential for innovation at operational sites. Therefore, it is necessary to train the next generation of geothermal experts in order to develop and exploit the geothermal projects of tomorrow.

The European Geothermal PhD Days (EGPD) is a two-day training program organised by PhD students of different universities every year. The first European Geothermal PhD-day (EGPD2010) was held at the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ - German Research Centre for Geosciences - on February 12, 2010, as an initiative of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) joint program in geothermal energy. After 13 versions of the EGPD, more than 180 PhD students working on geothermal energy have participated. In total, participants working in 20 different European countries, and various scientific disciplines, have attended the two-day PhD-training program.

EGPD is a way to efficiently spread scientific knowledge related to geothermal energy by making an event that attracts young specialists. It emulates youth in geosciences and provides a framework to make connections in a qualitative way. It provides a dedicated and informal occasion for the PhD students to exchange with their pair and to develop their network.

About the hosts - EASYGO ITN

The EASYGO Innovative Training Network, is the first standardized doctoral education program in Europe focused on geothermal operations. This project hosts 13 PhD students of the IDEA League universities TU Delft (TUD), ETH Zurich (ETH), RWTH Aachen University (RWTH), and Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi). EASYGO graduates, in collaboration with 10 industry partners, are working towards making geothermal operations more efficient and safe.

Currently, the 13 PhD students conduct state-of-the-art research into the full chain of geothermal operations, from production to power-plant engineering to injection. For more information about the framework and individual projects, visit EASYGO's Website.

Organizing Committee

PhD students of EASYGO ITN Project

Anna Kottsova

Hydrogeochemical processes affecting efficiency during operation

Host Institutions: TU Delft, ETH Zurich, Hydreco Geomec.

Wen Luo

Study of Near-borehole thermo-hydro-mechanical processes

Host Institutions: TU Delft, RWTH Aachen, Hydreco Geomec.

David Naranjo

Long-term seismic monitoring of Dutch geothermal-well activities with surface seismometers.

Host Institutions: TU Delft, RWTH Aachen, EBN.

Mahmoud Eltayieb

Joint seismic and electromagnetic monitoring system design.

Host Institutions: TU Delft, ETH Zurich, Huisman Equipment BV.

Lorenzo Galieti

Mixtures as working fluids for geothermal ORC power plants.

Host Institutions: TU Delft, Politecnico Di Milano, Lu-Ve.

Hagen Söding

Novel geophysical monitoring options of CO2 injections.

Host Institutions: ETH Zurich, RWTH Aachen, Nagra

Nicolás Rangel Jurado

Option of using CO2 instead of water as the subsurface energy extraction fluid in EGS and in sedimentary basins.

Host Institutions: ETH Zurich, RWTH Aachen, Geoenergie Suisse

Selvican Türkdoğan

Heterogeneities in hydraulic-mechanical coupled reservoir properties.

Host Institutions: RWTH Aachen, ETH Zurich, Geoenergie Suisse

Josselin Ouf

Large scale cooling induced stress changes around deep geothermal reservoirs.

Host Institutions: RWTH Aachen, TUD, Hydreco Geomec

Ryan Santoso

Physics-based machine learning for real-time simulation update.

Host Institutions: RWTH Aachen, ETH Zurich, Geophysica/ Frauenhofer IEG

Andrea E. Balza Morales

Geometry-based joint geological-geophysical inversion.

Host Institutions: RWTH Aachen, ETH Zurich, Geophysica/ Frauenhofer IEG

Esteban Gómez Diaz

Geothermal reservoir characterization of deep limestones in the Rhine-Ruhr region.

Host Institutions: RWTH Aachen, ETH Zurich, Geophysica/ RWE

Tristan Merbecks

Design and operation of a binary ORC plant for the exploitation of different geothermal sources, including two-phase sources.

Host Institutions: PoliMi, ETH Zurich, Turboden