GeoBuilding

Geothermal energy can significantly contribute to meeting the EU’s 2030 low-carbon heating and cooling objectives and is critical to meeting 2050 net-zero targets. It is an unlimited renewable heat source located below ground, which can be used efficiently for heating and cooling purposes irrespective of weather conditions, daytime, or season. This makes geothermal energy one of the cleanest, most reliable, and safest heating and cooling solutions. However, its utilisation must be preceded by necessary energy refurbishment activities, as one of the main principles of energy savings, in that utilisation of renewable energy has to be in parallel with the reduction of energy consumption of buildings. Moreover, geothermal heating works with a lower temperature medium 
than gas heating, therefore, proper insulation of buildings is an important prerequisite for the efficient operation of these systems. Consequently, the main objective of the current project is to strengthen the sustainable exploitation of ground source geothermal potential in the cross-border area and foster the refurbishment of the building stock.
GeoBuilding focuses on the exploitation of geothermal energy sources, which can be utilized without excessive investments, as only a moderate investment size can be affordable for the municipalities, companies, and citizens of the cross-border area with a lagging behind economy and limited financial resources available. That is why drilling of deep (1000 - 3000 m) wellbores is out of the scope; the project focuses on shallow geothermal technologies to a maximum depth of 150 m by recommending two types of geothermal energy utilization: 

• Exploitation of ground source geothermal energy stored in the shallow ground layers, requiring a ground-to-water / water-water heat pump systems for heat production. Such shallow layers are up to 150 m deep for closed loop systems and 10-30 m deep for underground water systems.
• Utilization of geothermal waste heat, which is also available without additional extraction of thermal water. In this case, water-to-water heat pumps are necessary to exploit this heat.

To boost geothermal investments, the project provides practical support for local communities by delivering technical documentation for 20 buildings in the border region. These documents will prepare shallow-layer ground-to-water or water-to-water heat pump systems to be installed at 8 public buildings in Hungary and 8 in Croatia. Additionally, feasibility assessment of geothermal heat utilisation of existing geothermal wells or ground-to-water will also be elaborated for 2 selected locations in Hungary and 2 in Croatia, to provide predictions on the expected investment cost and savings of such complex investments. These well-elaborated project documentations make it possible for local administrations to launch their investments on time when necessary financial resources become available. The buildings will be selected for the activities based on the recommendations of the methodological paper. These local municipalities will also be supported by showcasing the operation of geothermal systems at three locations of the border region: 1 in Hungary, 2 in Croatia. These investments will be demonstrated to local communities to show how such systems work and to explain the challenges of the design, construction, and maintenance phases. Buildings for pilot investments have already been pre-selected by the beneficiaries based on their previous experience with geothermal projects and some basic requirements, such as public ownership, the replacement of fossil fuels, and location in frequently visited places. The pre-selection of these buildings ensures the timely completion of the investments, so that the pre-investment activities can start at the start of the project.

GeoBuilding also considers that building owners and operators on both sides of the border lack comprehensive knowledge of the utilization of geothermal energy and the implementation of energy renovation projects in their buildings. This is especially true for companies and local citizens. There is an incomplete and fragmented institutional background for technical assistance on the necessity and optimal ways of the renovation wave, combined with geothermal energy exploitation. The project, therefore, establishes a virtual one-stop-shop (vOSS) system, an AI-based online platform, which will provide the basic set of information and simplified diagnosis and recommendations to interested stakeholders and citizens. Besides the vOSS, the knowledge sharing activities of the project will be supported by several dedicated workshops organised for municipalities, condominiums, youth, and the wider public.