News

The EU aims to have a net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) economy by 2050. At present, heating and cooling represent around 50% of the final energy demand in Europe and are for a large part supplied by fossil fuel derived energy. Large scale seasonal heat storage is a key strategy to decarbonize heating in order to achieve EU ambitions, because sustainable sources like geothermal and solar provide a lot of heat in summer, while we need it in winter. The PUSH-IT consortium receives this Horizon Europe grant to demonstrate and develop such heat storage systems. PUSH-IT stands for Piloting Underground Seasonal Heat Storage In geothermal reservoirs.

What happens to a foundation pile once it is in the ground? How much weight can a foundation pile sustain? And furthermore, what is the effect of the different soil layers on the pile? PhD Kevin Duffy is researching the behaviour of foundation piles in typical Dutch soil conditions. His goal? Not only to keep safety levels and standards high, but also to make a contribution towards reducing CO2 emissions associated with the production and installation of these piles.

Within the Dutch National Research Agenda (NWA) 'Bridges and Quay Walls in Urban Areas' one of the research projects has been awarded to associate professor Mandy Korff, researcher at TU Delft Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CEG) and Deltares. The research, 'live insights for bridges and quay walls,' shortened to 'LiveQuay'.

De urgentie van de energietransitie neemt elke dag verder toe. De CO2-uitstoot moet in 2030 met 55% verminderd zijn ten opzichte van 1990 en 1,5 miljoen huishoudens moeten dan aardgasvrij zijn. Dat vraagt om concrete actie. Zo’n tien jaar geleden kreeg een groep TU Delft studenten het idee om een geothermische bron op de universiteitscampus te boren. Wat eerst een wild plan leek, werd in gang gezet toen bleek dat de campus een ideale plek voor geothermie was.

In winter, glaciers are silent. But in the summer, it turns out that they generate infrasound through calving ice and meltwater. This is an inaudible sound to humans, but is picked up by high resolution measuring instruments.

Raw material shortages are putting the brakes on the energy transition. It is time for more (urban) mining in Europe and policy to get the circular economy off the ground.

Delft's climate mission no longer makes working with the oil industry a given. Prof. Dr. Giovanni Bertotti (Geoscience and Engineering (GSE)) works at the department with the most collaborations in the oil and gas industry. The shift from fossil to renewable energy is taking place slowly but irreversibly. What does that mean for collaborations?

Energi Simulation, a Calgary-based not-for-profit organization, has committed an investment exceeding $1,000,000 Canadian Dollars over the next three years to support Dr. Hadi Hajibeygi and Professor Sebastian Geiger, from the Department of Geoscience and Engineering at the Delft University of Technology, to grow their geoscience and reservoir engineering research activities in energy transition and support innovative science on the transition to a low-carbon energy future.

At the end of March, Dominique Ngan-Tillard and Deyan Draganov performed a geophysical investigation at the orphans' cemetery in Neerbosch, Nijmegen. They were invited there by the Foundation Memento Mori to try to image unknown graves.