Short summary/ preview of project:
Faced with damaged energy infrastructure, the prospect of costly traditional grid restoration and the energy security risks posed by relying on imported natural gas, Ukraine is turning its attention to more sustainable energy alternatives.
Ukraine aims to source 27.1% of its energy from renewables by 2030. While geothermal energy offers a promising solution for both electricity and thermal energy production, Ukraine’s geothermal resource is considered “marginal”: Although a significant resource exists, the pathways to access are more complex and uncertain compared to other sites in the world. This situation increases the likelihood of drilling an unproductive well, creating significant investor uncertainty – especially when the costs of drilling deep wells are high. Based on current available techniques, the geothermal resource in Ukraine and in many other similar environments could be considered too risky to attract investment and therefore remain un-utilised.
This project proposes a modelling solution to significantly increase the probability of locating productive wells, making geothermal exploration in Ukraine and in other more risky environments more investible.
The solution: Advanced geothermal modelling and resource assessment for sustainable energy production
The Geothermal Ukraine project offers innovative, efficient, and scalable geothermal energy solutions to provide reliable electricity and heat to communities. This enhances energy resilience and reduces dependency on imported fossil fuels.
- Created through a cross-border partnership of entrepreneurs and academics, the project uses advanced computational geomechanics and multi-physics modelling to enable detailed heat transfer predictions and resource assessment, significantly improving efficiency and reducing risks.
- The project integrates geological expertise, laboratory analysis, and cutting-edge modelling techniques to optimise geothermal well placement and resource utilisation, ensuring sustainable power generation for businesses, communities, and critical services.
- The system uses innovative technologies to optimise geothermal energy production by managing subsurface heat transfer, forecasting long-term reservoir behaviour, and mitigating potential environmental impacts.
- This technology will be deployed at a pilot site in the Transcarpathian region and has scale up potential for other geothermal-friendly regions, contributing to a new wave of energy security and innovation for Europe.
- Critical raw materials could be additional output as by-product of cascade utilization of geothermal brines, creating added value for geothermal industry.
Potential impact
Harnessing its geothermal energy potential could play a crucial role in Ukraine’s renewable energy transition and economic recovery. This underlines the potential significance of the Geothermal Ukraine project.
- Making geothermal energy more investable could contribute to lower natural gas dependency, strengthening Ukraine’s energy security due to decreasing of major geological risks and speed up of exploration stage for similar projects.
- Stable power supply from geothermal sources enables businesses to operate reliably, boosting local economies.
- The project is targeting construction of a geothermal power plant with 10MWe installed electricity capacity and additional heat production in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine over a 30-year period.
- It is a scalable technology that can be expanded across Ukraine and other geologically suitable regions.
- This project will create jobs for Ukrainian people in innovative energy tech. Through hands-on training in geomechanics, geology, and advanced modelling techniques, local engineers and scientists will also gain crucial expertise.
- The project focuses on developing a strategic business division within UGV with specialised geothermal expertise, creating a foundation for future projects.
- UK and Polish partners will enhance Ukraine’s capabilities in geothermal resource assessment, risk analysis, and project planning.
The project team
- Aberystwyth University, UK
- Rockfield, UK
- JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya (UGV), Ukraine
- Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine
- INiG – PIB (Oil and Gas Institute – National Research Institute), Poland
- Solotvyno Local Council (SLC), Ukraine
