DEPARTMENT OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Head of the Department – Yurii Morozov, Doctor of Technical Sciences
The Department conducts fundamental and applied research in geothermal energy and the integrated utilisation of geothermal resources with the following objectives:
- to provide scientific support for and facilitate the practical implementation of technologies for generating thermal and electrical energy from geothermal resources;
- to investigate and substantiate heat and mass transfer processes and geothermal energy conversion systems;
- to identify promising research directions, offer scientific backing, and ensure scientific oversight in the implementation of advanced integrated technologies and heat and power generation systems using geothermal energy within Ukraine’s fuel and energy sector.;
- to develop new types of geothermal energy conversion and utilisation systems and to optimise the operating parameters of existing systems for applications in power generation, agro-industrial and refrigeration technologies, balneology, and other fields;
- to develop and implement new technologies for extracting associated fuel gas from geothermal waters in order to improve the efficiency of utilising geological formations;
- to investigate and substantiate the prospects for underground thermal energy storage;
- to assess the economic performance and environmental impacts of geothermal energy systems, including their effects on groundwater aquifers and the dynamics of hydrogeological conditions;
- to develop national standards for the design and operation of geothermal installations and systems.
Current Research Areas
The Department currently focuses on the following major research areas related to the extraction and utilisation of geothermal energy:
- development of analytical methods for geothermal water production systems containing dissolved gas and experimental investigation of thermal processes in underground permeable formations;
- development of methods for assessing the energy efficiency of utilising geothermal heat carriers and associated fuel gases from Ukraine’s geothermal fields;
- development of methods for analysing technological processes in efficient systems for the combined utilisation of geothermal heat and associated fuel gas for electricity generation;
- development of methods for determining the parameters of integrated geothermal energy extraction, storage, and utilisation systems employing hydrogen technologies;
- development of energy-efficient geothermal resource extraction systems and their integrated application for the combined generation of electricity and heat using underground thermal energy storage, as well as identification of priority regions for their deployment in Ukraine.
The Department provides scientific support for the geothermal component of the State Scientific and Technical Programme “State Programme for the Support of the Development of Non-Conventional and Renewable Energy Sources and Small Hydropower and Heat Power Engineering.”
The Department’s priority research and development activities include:
- assessment of the energy potential of Ukraine’s geothermal fields based on hydrogeological and geothermal data from wells in water-flooded oil and gas fields;
- feasibility studies and site selection for pilot geothermal district heating systems and geothermal power plants;
- development and modelling of geothermal heat carrier extraction systems to ensure environmentally safe and energy-efficient operation of geothermal installations;
- further development of theoretical studies based on the fundamental equation of thermo-piezo-viscoelastic spatial filtration applicable to geothermal resource extraction systems;
- development of geothermal energy extraction and utilisation systems employing hydrogen technologies, based on existing non-productive oil and gas wells;
- experimental investigation of thermal and hydrodynamic processes in underground geothermal heat extraction and thermal energy storage systems;
- development of integrated energy-efficient heating and cooling systems for residential, administrative, and industrial buildings;
- development of methodologies for assessing geothermal resources, taking into account associated products, regional hydrogeological and geothermal characteristics, and utilisation options for industrial and agricultural energy consumers.