To reduce the total cost of low enthalpy geothermal systems by 20-30 % the project will improve actual drilling/installation technologies and designs of Ground Source Heat Exchangers (GSHE’s). This will be combined with an holistic approach for optimum selection, design and implementation of complete systems across different underground and climate conditions. The proposal will focus on one hand on the development of more efficient and safe shallow geothermal systems and the reduction of the installation costs. This will be realized by improving drastically an existing, innovative vertical borehole installation technology of coaxial steel GSHE and by developing a helix type GSHE with a new, innovative installation methodology. These GSHE’s will be installed to a depth of 40 – 50 meters ensuring improved safety and faster permitting. On the other hand, the proposal will develop a decision support (DSS) and other design tools covering the geological aspects, feasibility and economic evaluations based on different plant set-up options, selection, design, installation, commissioning and operation of low enthalpy geothermal systems . These tools will be made publicly available on the web to users, including comprehensive training to lower the market entry threshold. Given that drilling and GSHE technologies are mature but costly, this holistic approach is included in the proposal to bring the overall cost of the total project down, i.e. not just the cost of the GSHE itself but the avoidance of ground response tests, the engineering costs for the design of the GSHE and the integration of heat pumps with building heating and cooling systems. Also the use of novel the heat pumps for higher temperatures developed within the project will reduce the costs in the market for retrofitting buildings. The developments will be demonstrated in six sites with different undergrounds in different climates whilst the tools will be applied to several virtual demo cases.

The solutions to apply the shallow geothermy will be different in function of the building type, the climate and the geological conditions of the underground, the geothermal system (drilling methodology, GSHE, grouting,..). The main objectives will be : - identify and where missing develop building blocks solutions in drilling (machines and methods), GSHE types, heat pumps and other renewable energy/storage technologies, heating and cooling terminals with the focus on every type of built environment, civil and historical; - generate and demonstrate the most easy to install and cost-effective geothermal energy solutions using and improving existing and new tools. In the area of shallow geothermy of further innovations are needed to provide a pan – European solution base for all the parameter combinations. More efficient borehole heat exchangers and lower cost drilling methodologies/machines adapted to the built environment will be realised as improvement or innovation related to the previous projects. This approach will bring to a easy applicability in the building refurbishment presenting different constrains, to reduce the overall drilling cost in the given geological conditions, will to avoid replacement of heating terminals constructing modular high temperature heat pumps and hence to reduce the deep retrofit costs. The association with tools (DSS, APPs, etc.) will enable to find the best solution for each combination of building type/climate/geology y. Moreover, the design tools will reduce overall engineering costs, avoid design mistakes and form the basis for a major dissemination effort. Application tools will help the users for different practical aspects. Finally to help knowledge dissemination and formations of the future experts a pan – European network of centres of excellence based on past expertise but complemented with the new developments should become instrumental in breaking down the barriers in shallow geothermal energy in building renovation.

Today, the heating sector is not on track toward achieving the IEA Net-Zero targets: it represents more than a third of the energy demand and it mainly relies on fossil fuels. District heating is recognized as a major solution allowing decarbonization of the heating sector. The integration of large-scale seasonal energy storage, compensating for the mismatch between supply and demand whilst ensuring the service, is key for a wide spread of district heating. USES4HEAT aims to demonstrate innovative, large-scale, seasonal thermal energy storage solutions enabling a future decarbonized and reliable heating supply. USES4HEAT demonstrates, at TRL8 and for a one-year test campaign, two innovative, cost-effective, large-scale, seasonal underground TES units to maximize the availability and resilience of heating supply while reducing energy losses and environmental impact. USES4HEAT seeks to demonstrate the storages as fully integrated units in commercial large-scale district heating networks and industrial waste heat recovery and fulfilling industrial thermal demand. In doing so, USES4HEAT also demonstrates six innovative key enabling components/technologies and their integration with seasonal storages: advanced drilling equipment and remotely controlled machines halving drilling times, innovative layered high-temperature borehole pipes, efficient groundwater heat pumps integrated with aquifer storages, hybrid solar panels and thermal solar collector, and accurate AI-based energy management tools. USES4HEAT will systematically demonstrate the effectiveness and techno-economic-social viability of innovative, large-scale, seasonal energy storages ensuring limited CAPEX, reduced environmental impact and energy losses, efficient integration in district heating and accumulation of various sources of heat, and granting reliable and decarbonized heating supply.