Tue, 10 October, 2023
We are pleased to announce that the GeoHex project has now come to a successful close. Experts from TWI worked on the project as one of 13 consortium partners from industry and academia.
Organisations from across Europe as well as in The Philippines worked on the GeoHex project to deliver solutions for the improved and optimised performance of geothermal operations. Reducing costs for operators by researching and improving the materials used in geothermal plants, the project focused on heat exchanger materials.
Heat exchangers are subjected to constant exposure to the harsh geothermal fluids that can cause corrosion and scaling, creating high capital, operational and maintenance costs as parts suffer degradation and require inspection and replacement.
The development of improved heat exchanger materials has delivered enhanced anti-corrosion and anti-scaling properties as well as improved performance, leading to more efficient and cost-effective systems.
The consortium worked together to develop materials for three different heat transfer mechanisms; single phase heat transfer, condensing surface and boiling surface. In addition, a sustainability model, using parametric lifecycle assessment, and a cost model were developed in order to identify the environmental and cost performance of the materials. The findings from this modelling and research were then incorporated into a knowledge based engineering tool combined with a multi-criteria decision-support system.
Project details have been disseminated throughout, including at webinars, through newsletters, and via published papers and articles in a number of journals and magazines. Members of the GeoHex team also presented project findings at the World Geothermal Congress in Beijing, at AMPP’s annual conference and expo in San Antonio, Texas, and at the European Geothermal Congress in Berlin.
We are pleased to have helped the GeoHex project deliver findings that can significantly reduce the cost of geothermal operations, as well as strengthening EU leadership on renewables.
You can find out much more about the work of the GeoHex project at the dedicated website, here.
The GEOHEX project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Grant agreement 851917.