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Our Bruface Civil Engineering students visited the deep geothermal Balmatt project (VITO) and the Hades underground research laboratory (Euridice) in Mol
In the frame of their elective course of « Energy geomechanics », some of our students of Bruface Master 2 in Civil Engineering had the opportunity to visit the installations of the deep geothermal Balmatt project in Mol. VITO has built there a geothermal energy plant, with 3 wells (3.5 kilometers deep).
In the frame of their elective course of « Energy geomechanics », some of our students of Bruface Master 2 in Civil Engineering had the opportunity to visit the installations of the deep geothermal Balmatt project in Mol. VITO has built there a geothermal energy plant, with 3 wells (3.5 kilometers deep). From 2021 onwards, the plant is an integral part of a test programme to investigate induced seismicity, with a view to completely safe geothermal heat extraction in the future (https://vito.be/en/deep-geothermal/balmatt-energy-plant).
In the afternoon, our students visited the Hades underground research laboratory constructed and managed by Euridice (general partnership between Ondraf/Niras and SCK-CEN), also in Mol. This underground research laboratory is located in the Boom Clay at a depth of 225 metres and plays a central role in research into the safety and feasibility of geological disposal of radioactive waste. Experts use it to develop and test industrial technologies for building, operating and closing a waste repository in deep clay (https://www.euridice.be/en/content/hades-underground-research-laboratory).
Both visits have allowed to illustrate how geomechanics is today essential in many complex projects related to energy production and storage.