Geothermal Center Bochum
| Geothermal Center Bochum | |
|---|---|
| Category: | research Institute |
| Carrier: | legally independent |
| Legal form of the carrier: | Registered association |
| Facility location: | Bochum |
| Type of research: | application-oriented basic research |
| Subjects: | Natural sciences |
| Areas of expertise: | Earth sciences , geophysics |
| Management: | Rolf Bracke |
| Annotation: | Public Private Partnership |
| Homepage: | www.geothermie-zentrum.de |
The GeothermieZentrum Bochum eV (GZB) is a joint research facility in North Rhine-Westphalia that is supported jointly by science and business in the form of a Public Private Partnership (PPP). The center in Bochum sees itself as a business-oriented research and development facility for geothermal mining . The facility was founded in September 2003 under the original name "Center for Geothermal and Future Energies" and officially opened in March 2004.
The research association is an initiative of public administration, science and economy in North Rhine-Westphalia. The association pursues the goal of a geothermal energy supply depending on the varying heating and cooling requirements of large planning areas. The complex planning-related and administrative-law relationships of major geothermal projects are to be explored, simplified and documented using guidelines for action.
Partner structure
The sponsors are the "GZB-Trägererverein eV" for the public law partners (here universities and regional authorities ) and the "GZB-Wirtschaftsvereinigung eV" for the private law partners (here companies in the energy industry ).
The GCW-support association founded in 2005 include the RWTH Aachen , the University of Bochum , the University of Applied Sciences Gelsenkirchen , the district government Arnsberg as Upper State Authority for Mining and Energy, the city of Bochum, the EnergieAgentur.NRW (a service of North Rhine-Westphalia) and the IHK Middle Ruhr Area . The 15-member board of directors of the sponsoring association is made up of political, energy, research and economic strategic decision-makers.
The GZB-Wirtschaftsvereinigung, founded in 2006, includes some well-known companies from the fields of energy, construction and drilling, plant construction, and urban and project development. The tasks of the business association are also to secure the financing of the geothermal center.
In the scientific field, there is a division of labor between the Bochum University of Applied Sciences and the Gelsenkirchen University of Applied Sciences for the field of "Energy System Technology" and RWTH Aachen for the field of "Applied Geosciences".
Due to the organizational form of public-private partnership, a strategic platform with broad expertise in the energy sector was created: from energy research, technical development, demonstration and market launch to energy consulting and professional training.
The office is located at Bochum University, the head of the center is Rolf Bracke .
tasks
The objectives are as follows:
- Technology, knowledge and information transfer between universities, business and the public in the geothermal sector;
- Implementation and networking of application-oriented geo-research between universities and business;
- Training and further education for engineers, geoscientists, miners, architects and craftsmen in the thermal mining sector and its integration in building and supply infrastructures;
- Retraining of employees in the coal and steel industry in a future technology close to mining (“from hard coal to thermal mining”);
- Establishment of a scientific network with partner universities and research institutions in the national and international area.
The integration of geothermal infrastructures in urban planning concepts is the focus of the national projects of the GZB.
Through intensive efforts in the first years of its work, the GZB succeeded in building an international network of cooperation in the geothermal sector.
Teaching
With the master's degree in "Geothermal Energy Systems", the Bochum University of Applied Sciences, with the support of the GZB and the cooperating universities, is one of the first universities in Germany to offer well-founded scientific and interdisciplinary training in geothermal energy.