Active research projects
Piloting Underground Storage of Heat in Geothermal Reservoirs (PUSH-IT) is an EU-funded project that aims to improve the understanding, development and acceptance of heat storage technologies. The consortium is led by the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and consists of 19 partners.
For more information please contact Andrés González Quirós.
The NERC-funded ‘Hypogene karst: genesis and implications to optimisation of low enthalpy energy resources’ project, led by the University of Manchester, aims to provide a better understanding of the genesis of these karst systems and the potential implications for circulation of deep fluids and low-enthalpy geothermal systems in the UK.
The role of BGS is to support to the speleological, hydrogeological and modelling activities by providing expert knowledge and datasets.
For more information please contact Vanessa Banks.
BGS is a co-investigator in the EPSRC-funded Geothermal Energy from Mines and Solar Geothermal heat Storage (GEMS) project, led by Durham University.
The project will use the UK Geoenergy Observatory in Glasgow to perform field tests to improve the understanding of the flow and transport of heat in flooded underground mines. BGS is also contributing hydrogeological and heat-flow modelling.
For more information please contact Alison Monaghan.
Geothermal Power generated from UK granites or GWatt aims to develop a better understanding of fluid and heat flow in deep fractured rocks in order to improve and encourage the use of geothermal energy in the UK. The project has received £1.8 million in funding from NERC and the consortium is formed by research, business and Government partners, including BGS.
For more information please contact Christopher Rochelle.
This project provides underpinning geoscientific data and knowledge for geothermal resource assessment of the East African Rift. Continental-scale geothermal data compiled by BGS has been incorporated into a Geothermal Atlas for Africa as part of the LEAP-RE EU-funded project.
Previous research projects
REFLECT aimed to improve the understanding of the behaviour and properties of fluids in deep geothermal reservoirs. The project was funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme. It investigated more than a dozen geothermal fields in Europe, including the United Downs in the UK.
For more information please contact Christopher Rochelle.
This project integrated surface and subsurface geological and geophysical data collected by the oil and gas industry to identify deep geothermal targets in Carboniferous limestone strata across central and southern Great Britain. A 3D static geological model was created and quantified the UK heat-in-place and potentially recoverable heat resource from this geothermal play. BGS also collaborated with the University of Manchester to understand the structural configuration of this unit from onshore to offshore in the East Irish Sea.
For more information please contact Timothy Kearsey.
BGS participated as partner in the EU-funded Managing Urban Shallow geothermal Energy (GEOera-MUSE) project, investigating the resources and possible conflicts of shallow geothermal resources in European urban areas. Among the pilot areas, two were located in the UK: Cardiff (with focus of the city-scale groundwater temperature characterisation to support the development of geothermal energy) and Glasgow.
For more information please contact David Boon.
The Cooperation in Geothermal energy research Europe-Mexico for development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems and Superhot Geothermal Systems (GEMex) project was a collaborative project with partners in Mexico and Europe to develop innovative methods for accessing deep geothermal resources in variable geological formations.
For more information please contact Christopher Rochelle.
The ThermoMap project focused on information for shallow geothermal potential across Europe. The project was co-funded by the EU FP7-ICT Policy Support Programme and involved 12 partners from nine EU member states.
An online tool was produced of the very shallow (down to 10 m) geothermal potential covering an estimation of the superficial deposits in the nine countries involved in this project (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Romania and the UK).
The project aimed to compare experiences and draw lessons from the shale gas experience in order to develop an approach to governance and community engagement for geothermal energy developments for a just and sustainable energy future.
For more information please contact Corinna Abesser.
By comparing different media, this project aimed to understand to what extent, and why, different types of seismic events in the UK (tectonic and those induced by shale gas and other human activities) are reported differently.
For more information please contact Hazel Napier.
Science briefing papers and selected research
Abesser, C, Schincariol, R A, Raymond, J, García-Gil, A, Drysdale, R, Piatek, A, Giordano, N, Jaziri, N, and Molson, J. 2023. Case studies of geothermal system response to perturbations in groundwater flow and thermal regimes. Groundwater, Vol. 61(2), 255–273. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.13086
Busby, J, Lewis, M, Reeves, H, and Lawley, R. 2009. Initial geological considerations before installing ground source heat pump systems. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, Vol. 42(3), 295–306. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1144/1470-9236/08-092
Busby, J, Kingdon, A, and Williams, J. 2011. The measured shallow temperature field in Britain. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, Vol. 44(3), 373–387. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1144/1470-9236/10-049
Busby, J. 2014. Geothermal energy in sedimentary basins in the UK. Hydrogeology Journal, Vol. 22(1), 129–141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-013-1054-4
Busby, J, and Terrington, R. 2017. Assessment of the resource base for engineered geothermal systems in Great Britain. Geothermal Energy, Vol. 5, article 7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40517-017-0066-z
Downing, R A, and Gray, D A. 1986. Geothermal resources of the United Kingdom. Journal of the Geological Society, Vol. 143, 499–507. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.143.3.049
Farr, G, Busby, J, Wyatt, L, Crooks, J, Schofield, D I, and Holden, A. 2020. The temperature of Britain’s coalfields. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, Vol. 54(3). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1144/qjegh2020-109
Gillespie, M R, Crane, E J, and Barron, H F. 2013. Potential for deep geothermal energy in Scotland: study volume 1.
Gillespie, M R, Crane, E J, and Barron, H F. 2013. Potential for deep geothermal energy in Scotland: study volume 2.
Jones, D J R, Randles, T, Kearsey, T, Pharaoh, T C, and Newell, A. 2023. Deep geothermal resource assessment of early Carboniferous limestones for Central and Southern Great Britain. Geothermics, Vol. 109, 102649. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2023.102649
Monaghan, A A, Starcher, V, Barron, H F, Shorter, K, Walker-Verkuil, K, Elsome, J, Kearsey, T, Arkley, S, Hannis, S, and Callaghan, E. 2022. Drilling into mines for heat: geological synthesis of the UK Geoenergy Observatory in Glasgow and implications for mine water heat resources. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, Vol. 55(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1144/qjegh2021-033
Monaghan, A A, Bateson, L, Boyce, A J, Burnside, N M, Chambers, R, de Rezende, R, Dunnet, E, Everett, P A, Gilfillan, S M V, Jibrin, M S, Johnson, G, Luckett, R, MacAllister, D J, MacDonald, A M, Moreau, J W, Newsome, L, Novellino, A, Palumbo-Roe, B, Pereira, R, Smith, D, Spence, M J, Starcher, V, Taylor-Curran, H, Vane, C H, Wagner, T and Walls, D B. 2022. Time zero for net zero: a coal mine baseline for decarbonising heat. Earth Science, Systems and Society, Vol. 2, 10054. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/esss.2022.10054
Pharaoh, T, Jones, D, Kearsey, T, Newell, A, Abesser, C, Randles, T, Patton, A, and Kendall, R. 2021. Early Carboniferous limestones of southern and central Britain: characterisation and preliminary assessment of deep geothermal prospectivity. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften, Vol. 172(3), 227–249. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1127/zdgg/2021/0282
Rollin, K.E. 1987. Catalogue of geothermal data for the land area of the United Kingdom. Third revision: April 1987. Investigation of the Geothermal Potential of the UK. British Geological Survey report WJ/GE/87/007.
Other
- Open-loop GSHP screening tool (England and Wales)
- Heat stored in Britain’s abandoned coal mines (BGS and Coal Authority)
- Unlocking the deep geothermal energy potential of the Carboniferous Limestone Supergroup by Darren Jones (2021)
Online maps and tools

Open-loop GSHP screening tool
The BGS and the Environment Agency have together developed a web-based tool that maps the potential for open-loop ground-source heat pump installations in England and Wales.
You may also be interested in

Geothermal energy
Geothermal Energy is all energy stored in the form of heat beneath the surface of the solid earth. It is a reliable and constant source of low-carbon, renewable heat that is not dependent on weather conditions.

Geothermal technologies
Geothermal energy is available across the UK in different geological settings. It can be used to produce thermal (and in some places electrical) energy for a wide range of uses.

Applications
Geothermal energy resources occur in a broad range of geological settings. The BGS Geothermal Team has experience in assessing and characterising shallow and deep geothermal resources.
Related news

New report assesses deep geothermal energy in the UK
17/07/2023
A new BGS report assesses the current situation around and future potential of deep geothermal energy in the UK.

Geothermal energy
Geothermal Energy is all energy stored in the form of heat beneath the surface of the solid earth. It is a reliable and constant source of low-carbon, renewable heat that is not dependent on weather conditions.

Applications
Geothermal energy resources occur in a broad range of geological settings. The BGS Geothermal Team has experience in assessing and characterising shallow and deep geothermal resources.

Collaboration, progress and emerging themes in mine-water heating, cooling and storage
17/05/2023
BGS, the Coal Authority and IEA Geothermal held the third Mine Water Energy Symposium to enhance collaboration and knowledge exchange around the world.

Scientists discover regions of the UK with greatest potential to use heat from deep thermal waters
30/03/2023
BGS geologists have mapped the UK’s potential to use heat from thermal groundwater deep beneath central and southern Britain.

UK Geoenergy Observatories — open events in Glasgow
Event from 26/04/2023 to 27/04/2023
You are invited to visit the UK Geoenergy Observatory in Glasgow, to find out more about what the facility can offer you as a potential user.

UK Geoenergy Observatories: time zero for net zero
01/12/2022
The BGS-led UK Geoenergy Observatories project is shining a light on the subsurface’s potential to provide geothermal energy.

BGS joins European Geothermal Congress to highlight UK’s geothermal potential
21/10/2022
The European Geothermal Congress will discuss how the geothermal sector can help with the energy crisis.

Clean Energy Beneath Our Feet launches at Glasgow Science Centre
13/03/2022
A new interactive exhibition has launched at Glasgow Science Centre, inspired by the work of the UK Geoenergy Observatories.

UK set for groundbreaking underground observatory in Cheshire
09/02/2022
The UK Geoenergy Observatories project will deliver a second underground observatory for the UK after it was granted planning permission on Wednesday 9 February.

Evidence Week 2021
15/12/2021
Representatives from BGS took part in Evidence Week 2021 to talk to parliamentarians about unlocking the potential of geothermal energy in the UK.