EASYGO Innovative Training Network: 13 PhD positions to improve efficiency and safety in geothermal operations
The EASYGO project is part of the IDEA League network, a strategic
alliance between five leading European universities of science and
technology. The EASYGO project will be a collaboration of four academic
partners, RWTH Aachen University (with the institute for Applied
Geophysics and Geothermal Energy (GGE), among other institutes), TU
Delft, ETH Zurich, and Politecnico di Milano, as well as 10 industry
partners. A 3.4 M € fund has been awarded by the European Commission to
the project, that will be led by researcher Maren Brehme (TU Delft). It
is part of the Innovative Training Networks (ITN) meant for
extraordinary global research as well as excellent training
opportunities for PhD candidates to reach doctorate level.
Researching safe and efficient geothermal energy
Geothermal energy will play a key role in the energy transition as part
of mitigating climate change. But how to operate a geothermal system in
the most efficient and safe manner? This is the most important and
urgent question after a geothermal resource has been identified. EASYGO
will answer that question from different perspectives, integrating
geology, geophysics, geochemistry, advanced modelling and process
engineering. All research in EASYGO is aligned with two key research
questions:
1. How do we run geothermal systems efficiently?
2. How do we run geothermal systems safely?
The project will enable 13 PhD students from all consortium partners to
conduct state-of-the-art research into the full chain of geothermal
operations, from production to power-plant engineering to injection. The
consortium will tackle key aspects related to efficiency and safety and
develop novel monitoring concepts, perform real-time simulations,
develop system components, assess novel concepts for operations and test
operational parameters at the field scale.
Training future geothermal-energy experts
Given the challenges in geothermal operations and the ambitious
expansion plans for geothermal energy in many countries, there is an
urgent need for geothermal experts with a broad understanding of
geothermal systems. An important objective of EASYGO as an innovative
training network is to train tomorrow's leading geothermal-energy
experts. All 13 PhD students will work on a specifically identified
project but will learn aspects of the entire geothermal operation chain
in an outstanding training programme. They will have access to unique
large-scale research infrastructure available at the 4 universities and
10 industry partners of the consortium.
Founding an IDEA League Doctoral School
The IDEA League already offers a joint M.Sc. programme in Applied
Geophysics, but EASYGO will now bring the League to another level of
scientific collaboration and will set a new standard in Joint Doctoral
Education in the form of an IDEA League Doctoral School.