The use of the Earth’s natural heat as a source of energy has a long history, and recently has received a renewed interest as a renewable energy source. The range of application goes from low enthalpy (low temperature) in engineered shallow systems (down to 100 m or so), where the earth provides the necessary inertia to improve heating in winter and cooling insummer, to medium enthalpy where relatively hot systems can provide directly heat for industrial and urban consumption, to high enthalpy where the direct use of steam into turbines produces electrical power.

All scales require site characterization and monitoring that can be provided by a variety of multidisciplinary approaches, among which a key role is given my geophysical exploration. Thermal properties of the subsurface and permeability to water flux are the main targets of this characterization. Modelling in face of alternative for geothermal system design are also a key part of the research work.

Professors coordinating and developing projects related to this research pathway: Giorgio Cassiani, Jacopo Boaga, Paolo Fabbri, Antonio Galgaro, Silvana Martin, Leonardo Piccinini, Raffaele Sassi, Paolo Scotton