Stories
Curious about what we do at the RCSG?
Below you can read several stories about special research, new projects, collaborations with partners and more.
Energy Cave
The Energy Cave is affiliated with the RCSG (Rijswijk Centre for Sustainable Geoenergy) innovation center. Together with the RCSG, the beautifully designed exhibition and meeting space forms the center for sustainable underground energy applications.
Smart materials
In the ‘Smart Materials for Geothermal Installation’ program, composite materials and embedded sensor technology are investigated under high pressure and temperature. This research is being done as part of the project to make a geothermal installation entirely of composite.
New drilling technology
To make the water flow easily from the reservoir, much more ‘reservoir contact’ is needed than for oil and gas production and improving that contact is best achieved by drilling branches, for example in the shape of the roots of a tree. To do this, you need to be able to make bends underground and then drill far inside the hot water reservoir.
Natural Well Sealing
The Natural Well Sealing project is an example of a successful collaboration. TNO, together with 7 partners, started a project in 2015 to investigate the feasibility of using clay and salt to seal wells. With the RCSG’s testing facilities, tests could be done with the right size and under the pressure and temperature prevailing at more than 2 km depth.
