Project: Managing Urban Shallow geothermal Energy

Acronym MUSE (Reference Number: GeoE.171.006)
Duration 01/07/2018 - 30/06/2021
Project Topic MUSE investigates resources and possible conflicts of use associated with the use of shallow geothermal energy (SGE) in European urban areas and delivers key geoscientific subsurface data to stakeholders via a user-friendly web based GeoERA information platform (GIP). The assessment of geothermal resources and conflicts of use will lead to the development of management strategies considering both efficient planning and monitoring of environmental impacts to feed into general framework strategies of cities like Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs). The developed methods and approaches will be tested and evaluated together with input from local stakeholders in 14 urban pilot areas across Europe representative for different conditions of SGE use. The pilot areas are geologically and climatologically diverse and have a range of heating and cooling degree day characteristics, making the project outcomes and shared learnings relevant to the whole of Europe and beyond. In the MUSE project, we want to address all relevant aspects by capitalising upon existing knowledge, identifying and closing specific knowledge gaps and providing joint proposals on methodologies, criteria and concepts on SGE management. We adapt workflows to focus on local scale investigations suitable for densely-populated urban areas, where national heating and cooling demand is generally highest, and which will represent the most important SGE market in the future. The outcomes of the project represent a comprehensive collection of methods, approaches and tools, which can be transferred to other urban regions in Europe and adapted by other organisations.
Project Results
(after finalisation)
The overall aim of MUSE is to support methodologies and concepts for an efficient and sustainable use of shallow geothermal energy (SGE) in urban areas for heating, cooling and seasonal heat storage that can be implemented across Europe. Objectives: - Identifying, summarising and developing state-of-the-art methods including harmonised standards; - Develop strategies for efficient and sustainable use of SGE in European urban areas; - Transfer of methods and integrate into strategies in specific urban pilot areas across Europe with involvement of external stakeholders.
Website visit project website
Network GeoERA
Call GeoERA Cofund Call

Project partner

Number Name Role Country
1 Geologische Bundesanstalt c Austria
2 United Kingdom Research and Innovation (British Geological Survey) Partner United Kingdom
3 Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya Partner Spain
4 Hrvatski Geološki Institut – Croatian Geological Survey Partner Croatia
5 Ceska Geologicka Sluzba – Czech Geological Survey Partner Czech Republic
6 Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières Partner France
7 Geological Survey Ireland Partner Ireland
8 Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences – Geological Survey of Belgium Partner Belgium
9 Geološki zavod Slovenije Partner Slovenia
10 Instituto Geológico y Minero de España Partner Spain
11 Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning Partner Sweden
12 Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Partner Netherlands
13 Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute Partner Poland
14 State Geological Institute of Dionyz Stur Partner Slovakia
15 State Research and Development Enterprise – State Information Geological Fund of Ukraine Partner Ukraine
16 Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Partner Denmark