In a new situation where fossil fuel resources are becoming increasingly rare with a subsequent dramatic rise in their costs, we are seeing a renaissance of world-wide interest in geothermal energy. Armed with its expertise in the Earth Sciences, BRGM has developed R&D activities to promote the penetration of geothermal heat pumps into the construction industry. It is involved in many projects at national and international levels via many programmes, due mainly to a financial support from ADEME and the European Union (5th, 6 th and 7th FRDP) and more recently from the ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche; National Research Agency ).

GROUNDHIT  “Ground Coupled Heat Pumps of High Technology” (2004-2008)

The goal is to improve costs, energy efficiency, competitiveness and market penetration of geothermal heat pumps for heating and cooling:

Several approaches are addressed, in particular:

• Vertical geothermal exchangers: optimization of heat exchangers with the subsurface, standardization and development of a prefabricated prototype;
• Geothermal heat pumps with research into the design and experimentation:
• Improving the COP (COefficient of Performance) of the electric heat pump coupled with a vertical exchanger;
• Developing an electric heat pump capable of delivering water at 80 °C;
• Optimizing a geothermal heat pump capable of using groundwater up to 40 °C.

The project includes designing and developing various prototypes.

PUCA: Thermodynamic geothermal heating in grouped individual houses (2005-2006)

It is a question of analysing the feasibility conditions for mini geothermal energy fed networks for heating and cooling grouped individual dwellings. Two approaches are being studied:

• The use of a field of vertical probes;
• The use of a shallow aquifer from a production well coupled with an injection well.

COFOGE: COnception des FOndations GEothermiques [Design of Geothermal Pile Heat Exchangers ] (2006-2007)

The project aims to facilitate the introduction in France of installations with geothermal pile heat exchangers, using a global approach aimed at identifying the pros and cons of their development. It is mainly a question of developing a "state of the art" that includes a market study for France, professional habits and current regulations, and a review of the tools and techniques developed in Europe for studying the subsurface and the thermal system in foundations, and then combining them.

GEOBAT: Geothermal storage for optimizing energy consumption in buildings (2007-2008)

The project aims to facilitate the introduction in France of the geological storage of heat and cold at the scale of a building.

Creation of an experimental platform for geothermal heat pumps and their underground heat exchangers in Orléans

In the context of the State – Région Centre Contract (2007-2013), BRGM and the Centre Regional Council have joined forces to create an experimental platform for geothermal heat pumps and their underground heat exchangers aimed at a global assessment of the performances of heating systems functioning with geothermal heat pumps based on the three constitutive elements – i.e. the ground, the geothermal heat pump, and the building.

The activities will include three dimensions: research-development  - development of new products, performance qualification of the underground heat exchangers, assessment of their impact on the ground, etc.) - evaluation or certification of the systems and installation of a network of demonstrators in order to validate the developed new technologies or new concepts.