Your views wanted – developing a ‘Geothermal energy subsurface data portfolio’

BGS, in partnership with Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) have successfully been awarded funding from the Commercialising Knowledge Assets Fund, run by the Government Office for Technology Transfer and funded by the Department for Science Innovation and Technology. The aim of this funding stream is to move public sector knowledge assets to identified potential markets.

Renewable geothermal energy technologies are an increasingly important option for decarbonisation of heating and cooling systems, supporting the UK’s Net Zero carbon emissions targets. BGS can play a part in accelerating the deployment and improve the cost‑effectiveness of shallow geothermal technologies by harnessing its extensive subsurface data and geological expertise.

Project aims:

The aim of this project, which will run until June 2027, is to transform existing baseline data into products for renewable energy solutions, specifically for the exploitation of shallow geothermal energy for heating buildings. Data products will include estimated heat output of vertical boreholes using closed-loop ground source heat pump (GSHP) technology, at any location across Great Britain. The project is seeking input on how GSHP/geothermal maps and products are developed and delivered, ensuring the products are fit-for-purpose.

This consultation will help us to gain an understanding of the:

• stakeholder’s data requirements across multiple sectors in the shallow geothermal landscape
• market demand for subsurface geothermal information for GSHPs,
• preferred delivery mechanism of geothermal data for now and in the future.
  

To ensure a diverse range of perspectives are captured and that BGS is developing a fit-for-purpose product, we are consulting stakeholders across multiple sectors including heat network utility companies, industrial heat users, the building services sector, housing developers and value-added resellers of geoscientific information.

Have your say:

Implementing effective data products requires input from all our stakeholder groups and we’d like to hear from you.  BGS and ESC are hosting a series of focussed interview sessions to really understand how individuals and organisations could use BGS geothermal products. What are the priorities and needs? What activities are being supported by our data? What are we missing?  

If you would like to have your say in helping shape the current development phase of geothermal data and products (thermal properties and closed loop potential thermal output), as well as longer-term future products in developing the geothermal portfolio, then please get in touch.

BGS is also working on a GOTT grant to create geotechnical data tools as part of the Common Ground project. We would love to hear from people working with this type of data, to ensure these tools are designed with our users’ needs in mind, and we will be reaching out next week with a research questionnaire, with our partners Difference Engine.

Expressions of interest should be made to Reace.Edwards@es.catapult.org.uk (ESC) copying in annl@bgs.ac.uk (BGS) quoting ‘geothermal interview’ by the 2nd March 2026.

We will only use your details to contact you in relation to this survey. All personal data provided to The British Geological Survey/Energy Systems Catapult in response to this survey will be processed in accordance with current UK data protection legislation. Further information on how we use personal data, and how you can exercise your rights as a data subject, can be found in our Privacy Notice and Privacy Policy – Energy Systems Catapult.