Geothermal energy
Unleashing the power of the earth.
OMV is a reliable partner for energy supply in Austria – even in challenging times. Our goal is to focus on alternative and environmentally friendly energy in the long term. As we are working on tomorrow's solutions today, we are exploring the potential for geothermal energy in the Vienna Basin, with the goal of utilizing emission-free heat from the earth.
No matter how cold it is outside: it is almost constantly 10°C in the first 100 meters below the Earth’s surface. The deeper you go, the warmer it gets - by around 3°C per 100 meters. As a result, the water located several thousand meters below the Earth’s surface is over 100 degrees in temperature. Geothermal energy uses this heat, stored in deep waters or rock, for heating, cooling and generating electricity, by means of drilling and various technical procedures. OMV aims to produce up to 9 terawatt hours (TWh) of energy per year from geothermal applications by 2030, providing a further important contribution to the reduction of CO2.
Comfortable atmosphere included
OMV draws on decades of expertise when it comes to locating and economically developing deposits. Geothermal drilling is comparable to drilling for oil or gas. With geothermal heat, OMV focuses on the hydrothermal use of deep geothermal energy, meaning that it uses natural deep water at depths of up to 5,000 meters to generate energy. OMV is currently working on two development projects in the field of geothermal energy: one located in the Vienna Basin in Austria, and the other in Germany. In Germany, OMV has a 50 percent share in the geothermal “Projekt Thermo” in Lower Saxony, working together with other partners.
Sights set on industrial application
According to OMV experts, the geothermal conditions in the Vienna Basin are suitable for use as a direct heat carrier. In northern Germany, geothermal energy could be used to generate electricity. Industrial and agricultural uses also have great potential - for example the provision of heat for breweries, dairies, the paper industry, aquacultures and greenhouses.
Start of geothermal projects in OMV
The problem is that heat demand in the winter months is very high but rather low in summer. If geothermal energy was geared to peak load, this would be very expensive,” says Ms Zartl-Klik. The optimal way would thus be to provide the base load with geothermal plants and use other heat sources like biomass or large-scale heat pumps for peak load. In general, however, for every place with about 20,000 households or more, a geothermal facility would pay off. Die Presse, edition 10.12.2022
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