Advancing Energy Efficiency

RAL Space is contributing to a unique project to advance the provision of cleaner and cost-effective geothermal energy across Europe and the World with reduced emissions of carbon and sulphur.

The core of this project is the application of an innovative technology, recently developed and successfully demonstrated at a pilot-scale in Iceland, which can limit the emissions from geothermal plants by condensing and re-injecting the gases released back in to the Earth’s subsurface, or turning them into commercial products.

The RAL Space team will be working on the development of prototype laser sensing systems to accurately measure sulphur isotopes at geothermal field sites across Europe. Isotopic signatures can help in understanding the chemical processes happening in the subsurface rocks.

The project, made up of a group of 18 partners across Europe, have received a EUR 16 Million grant from the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme and the funding contributes to the GECO project, GECO standing for “Geothermal Emission COntrol”.

Once developed the prototype system will be deployed across several test sites in Iceland, Germany, Italy and Turkey.