Geothermal drilling in Dettenheim, Germany receives state approval

Artist's rendition of planned Dettenheim geothermal power plant in Karlsruhe, Germany (source: Deutsche ErdWärme)

Carlo Cariaga 9 May 2024

Deutsche Erdwärme has received approval from the state mining directorate in the Freiburg regional council near Dettenheim in Karlsruhe, Germany. With plans underway to build a drilling site at the target project site, drilling work can begin by 2025.

Managing Director Herbert Pohl confirmed the schedule, adding that the plan is to drill to a depth of around 3750 meters. The potential geothermal resource is being eyed for both power generation and local heating. Funding for the project is currently being applied for.

This will be the second geothermal drilling site for Deutsche Erdwärme in Karlsruhe, with the first one in the neighboring municipality Graben-Neudorf currently still under development. Hot water at more than 200 °C had been tapped into at Graben-Neudorf, which was an unexpectedly high temperature for the developer. This has pushed back the target commissioning date for the project as it sources for high-temperature solutions.

Thermal water with similarly high temperatures are expected in Dettenheim. The target geothermal reservoir is the Buntsandstein, which is also the same formation drilled into at Graben-Neudorf. The geothermal power plant in Dettenheim is planned to be built east of Rußheim on the L602 on the Gewann Schiffmächerstücker, for which Deutsche Erdwärme had already received a preliminary building permit.

Source: SWR