Within the project SURE (Novel Productivity Enhancement Concept for a Sustainable Utilization of a Geothermal Resource) the radial water jet drilling (RJD) technology will be investigated and tested as a method to increase inflow into insufficiently producing geothermal wells. Radial water jet drilling uses the power of a focused jet of fluids, applied to a rock through a coil inserted in an existing well. This technology is likely to provide much better control of the enhanced flow paths around a geothermal well and does not involve the amount of fluid as conventional hydraulic fracturing, reducing the risk of induced seismicity considerably. RJD shall be applied to access and connect high permeable zones within geothermal reservoirs to the main well with a higher degree of control compared to conventional stimulation technologies. A characterization of the parameters controlling the jet-ability of different rock formations, however, has not been performed for the equipment applied so far. SURE will investigate the technology for deep geothermal reservoir rocks at different geological settings such as deep sedimentary basins or magmatic regions at the micro-, meso- and macro-scale. Laboratory tests will include the determination of parameters such as elastic constants, permeability and cohesion of the rocks as well as jetting experiments into large samples in. Samples will be investigated in 3D with micro CT scanners and with standard microscopy approaches. In addition, advanced modelling will help understand the actual mechanism leading to the rock destruction at the tip of the water jet. Last but not least, experimental and modelling results will be validated by controlled experiments in a quarry (mesoscale) which allows precise monitoring of the process, and in two different geothermal wells. The consortium includes the only company in Europe offering the radial drilling service.

Geothermal is the most under-utilized of renewable sources due to high investment costs and long development cycle. A big part (53%) of the cost is in drilling and it is time-dependent. Geo-Drill aims to reduce drilling cost with increased ROP and reduced tripping with improved tools lives. Geo-Drill is proposing drilling technology incorporating bi-stable fluidic amplifier driven mud hammer, low cost 3D printed sensors & cables, drill monitoring system, Graphene based materials and coatings. Geo-Drill fluidic amplifier driven hammer is less sensitive to issues with mud and tolerances, less impact of erosion on hammer efficiency and it continues to operate with varying mud quality in efficient manner. It is also less affected by the environmental influences such as shocks, vibrations, accelerations, temperature and high pressures. Low cost and robust 3D-printed sensors & cables along the surface of the whole length of the drill string provides real-time high bandwidth data during drilling; e.g. estimation of rock formation hardness, mud flow speed, density, temp, etc. Flow assurance simulations combined with sensor readings and knowledge-based system will assist in optimizing drilling parameters and cuttings transport performance and safety conditions. Graphene's ability to tune the particular form lends itself uniquely as a component in a wide variety of matrices for coating developments with enhanced adhesion and dispersion properties and improved resistance to abrasion, erosion, corrosion and impact. Placing few mm hard-strength materials on drill bit, drill stabilizer through diffusion bonding improves their wear resistance and improve the lifetime. Geo-Drill's hammers improved efficiency and lifetime, drill parameter optimisation and CTP via sensors, reduced time in replacing tools with improved lifetime work together to improve ROP & lifetime resulting in reduced drilling time. Thereby, Geo-Drill will reduce drilling cost by 29-60%.

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is essential to guarantee the safe and reliable operation of technical appliances and will be a key enabler to exploit emerging technologies such as remaining useful lifetime prognosis, condition-based maintenance, and digital twins. Particularly, SHM using ultrasonic guided waves is a promising approach for monitoring chemical plants, pipelines, transport systems and aeronautical structures. While substantial progress has been made in the development of SHM technology, current techniques are often realised only at lab-scale. Missing quantification of reliability hinders their practical application. The substantial effort for signal processing and of permanent transducer integration as well as the lack of efficient simulation tools to improve understanding of guided wave-structure interaction and to predict the capabilities of the system limit their widespread use. Training of PhD students specialised in SHM is limited and fragmented in Europe. The aim of this project is to combine for the first time efficient simulation and signal processing tools for SHM and to assess the reliability of the monitoring systems. The project will bring together partners from academia and industry and will train a new generation of researchers skilled in all aspects of SHM, enabling them to transform SHM research into practical applications. Focusing on aeronautics, petrochemistry and the automotive sector as initial pilot cases, we will develop SHM concept to assess the integrity of structures and create ready-to-use tools for industry and other SHM users. The strong collaboration between mathematicians, physicists and engineers aims to bring the capabilities and applicability of SHM methods to the next level. Our students will acquire multidisciplinary scientific expertise, complementary skills, and experience working in academia and industry. The outcome of the project will pave the way for integrating SHM into real-world engineering structures.

India’s water resources are under severe stress resulting from overexploitation and pollution. The Indian government has started the Namami Gange programme in line with the sustainable development goals (SDG), including the improvement of wastewater treatment. PAVITRA GANGA links directly to these programmes and builds on existing cooperation between EU/India, supported by national governments. The objective is to fulfil SDG6 by unlocking the environmental and economic potential of municipal wastewater treatment and reuse solutions for urban and peri-urban areas in India. By focussing on three pillars we ensure maximum impact: - People: we create social awareness through a participatory monitoring approach. We target social vulnerable groups by providing treatment solutions for open drains. We create a community of practitioners by the establishment of open innovation test sites and a training & learning network. - Planet: we focus on rejuvenation of the river by removing organic pollution, heavy metals and emerging compounds that have the biggest impact on Indian streams. We provide technology innovations to upgrade existing wastewater infrastructure and to add treatment systems to open drains, resulting in improved quality of receiving rivers. - Profit: we apply the principles of the Circular Economy and exploit the economic opportunities of waste-to-energy, water reuse and resource recovery. Solutions are cost efficient and require limited investments making them particularly suited for the Indian market. In collaboration with local stakeholders and supported by industrial partners we will set-up two pilot sites at the Barapullah Drain (New Delhi) and the Jajmau plant (Kanpur). The dynamics of a business and technology platform combined with a learning network will form strong Indian water professionals, in line with Skill India, while also training EU experts in understanding Indian challenges. This will accelerate the transition to an EU-India level playing field.

GECO will advance in the provision of cleaner and cost-effective non-carbon and sulphur emitting geothermal energy across Europe and the World. The core of this project is the application of an innovative technology, recently developed and proved successfully at pilot scale in Iceland, which can limit the production of emissions from geothermal plants by condensing and re-injecting gases or turning the emissions into commercial products. To both increase public acceptance and to generalise this approach, it will be applied by GECO in four distinct geothermal systems in four different European countries: 1) a high temperature basaltic reservoir in Iceland; 2) a high temperature gneiss reservoir in Italy; 3) a high temperature volcano-clastic reservoir in Turkey; and 4) a low temperature sedimentary reservoir in Germany. Gas capture and purification methods will be advanced by lowering consumption of resources, (in terms of electricity, water and chemicals) to deliver cheaper usable CO2 streams to third parties. Our approach to waste gas storage is to capture and inject the soluble gases in the exhaust stream as dissolved aqueous phase. This acidic gas-charged fluid provokes the dissolution of subsurface rocks, which increases the reservoir permeability, and promotes the fixation of the dissolved gases as stable mineral phases. This approach leads to the long-term environmentally friendly storage of waste gases, while it lowers considerably the cost of cleaning geothermal gas compared to standard industry solutions. A detailed and consistent monitoring program, geochemical analysis, and comprehensive modelling will allow characterising the reactivity and consequences of fluid flow in our geologically diverse field sites letting us create new and more accurate modelling tools to predict the reactions that occur in the subsurface in response to induced fluid flow. Finally, gas capture for reuse will be based on a second stage cleaning of the gas stream, through amine separation and burn and scrub processes, producing a CO2 stream with H2S levels below 1 ppm, which is the prerequisite for most utilisation pathways such as the ones that will be applied within the project.