Climate-friendly heating energy from geothermal sources is the basis of a particularly efficient and energy-saving heat supply in Germany. Nationwide, the successful development of geothermal energy can only be achieved quickly if the entire range of geothermal technologies is employed from the shallow to deep subsurface. To meet the climate protection targets in the building sector within the specified timeframe, a rapid rollout of geothermal energy is required.
The previous German government recognized already the need for action and established various funding instruments, which have been collected in the federal geothermal campaign. The current German government is now intensifying support for the geothermal rollout with the federal exploration initiative by providing extended funding. In particular, locations are being addressed where a high exploration risk due to low data density or limited usable old data hamstring the project initiation.
The aim of the fedral exploration initiative is to create a favorable starting position through plausible geotehrmal resource assessments and a sound database, on which geothermal project development at the respective location can be advanced.
To support the exploration initiative, the research projects WärmeGut and Warm-UP are funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), through which the scientific basis for the exploration initiative is compiled, processed, and made publicly available in the established information system for geothermal energy, GeotIS.
This contribution summarizes the progress in the two projects WärmeGut and Warm-UP and provides an outlook on a geothermal exploration strategy for sustainable heat development in Germany, which is specifically promoted by federal funds and is solidly supported by scientific data.