HYBRID: Shallow geothermal heat recycling for climate-resilient cities

This lecture will be held in presence in the Anna-von-Helmholtz-Bau of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Berlin-Charlottenburg and can be followed online at the same time. Please use the links above to register your personal participation or to receive the access data for online participation.

Topic: Urban heat and sustainable energy are major challenges. Heat islands impact the health of communities; simultaneously, households heavily rely on fossil fuels for heating. This study uncovers a crucial link between these challenges, revealing the urban underground as a key player. Here, waste heat accumulates, with more than half of all observed temperature wells indicating thermal pollution. Recycling this heat would satisfy local annual heating needs for over a year. Projections suggest that by 2100, recycled surface and building heat could sustainably satisfy annual heating demands, creating an underground heat sink that shapes the local climate. Initial models indicate significant changes in urban canopy temperature caused by altered subsurface temperatures.

CV: Susanne Benz is a junior research group leader at the Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote sensing at KIT and specializes in the integration of big data science and geospatial information to examine the societal and environmental consequences of urbanization and climate change. Her primary focus lies in understanding how the constructed environment influences variations in atmospheric, surface, and subsurface temperatures. She has a diverse academic background spanning physics, hydrogeology, geospatial data science, and public policy. Her research consistently revolves around harnessing extensive geospatial datasets and creating decision-making tools that encompass both human-made and natural surroundings.

Following the lecture, there will be a get-together where participants can exchange ideas with each other over pizza and drinks in the Remise and the garden of the Magnus-Haus.

The event is sponsored by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation.