The public utility company of Bochum in cooperation with the International Geothermal Centre is planning to utilize mine waters from the former Dannenbaum colliery (in operation between 1859 and 1958) for heating and cooling purposes as one of the ways to benefit from the geothermal energy resources. The Dannenbaum colliery is located below the former Opel factory site in the Bochum-Laer area in North-West Germany. Geothermal heat will be extracted from mine depths of around 800 m, where temperatures of approximately 30°C are expected. Cooling will be possible from a mine section located at depth of around 300 m with anticipated temperatures of around 18°C. The energy potential of the mine water is predicted to cover around 75% of the heating and cooling requirements of the Mark 51°7 site, where various technology-driven companies and institutions, including DHL or Ruhr University, will have their infrastructure. The remaining heat requirement will be covered by the district heating network of FUW GmbH, a subsidiary of the public utility company of Bochum. The remaining cooling volumes are provided via conventional refrigeration systems.

Opel Car Factory and Headquarters, over Dannenbaum Mine site from 1962 to 2014

Work on the development area of MARK 51 ° 7 in 2016 at old Opel and old Dannenbuam site

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Sources: www.waz.de and www.bochum.de and www.bochum2022.de

Author: Michal Kruszewski

#geothermal #minewaters #heating #cooling #energyresources #Germany #internationalgeothermalcentre #heatpower