Energy transition
Energy transition
The subsurface plays a major role in the transition towards a sustainable energy system. The expertise of the Geological Survey of the Netherlands (GDN) is helping to make that transition possible. We provide knowledge about the local production of geothermal energy. The storage of sustainable (solar and wind) energy in former natural gas fields and salt caverns will become indispensable in the coming decades. Moreover, the underground storage of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide will also directly contribute to combating climate change.
System integration
Making the energy system sustainable goes hand in hand with major infrastructural challenges at local, regional, and national levels. This impacts the systems that provide us with heat, electricity, and green molecules, such as hydrogen. In future, these systems will be much more interconnected, enabling them to together provide reliable, affordable, and clean energy when needed. GDN’s research aims to make that possible.
Energy storage
To have sufficient energy available to accommodate the daily and seasonal fluctuations of our country’s energy demand, it is important to have a strategic energy reserve. GDN is investigating how, and with which technologies, the deep subsurface can be used to store energy. This can be in the form of a compressed gas or as hot water.
CO2 storage
By 2030, the Netherlands aims to have reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 49% when compared to 1990. Storing greenhouse gases in the deep subsurface is an important part of the Dutch government’s strategy. The first industrial-scale projects have already started. In several years, the Netherlands will lead the way in storing CO2 in depleted gas fields, with the Geological Survey of the Netherlands (GDN) as an important knowledge partner.