Underground Energy Storage and Geothermal Applications for a Sustainable Space Heating and Cooling
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 143
Special Issue Editors
Interests: geothermal energy; district heating and cooling grids; renewable energy communities; underground thermal energy storage systems
Interests: geothermal resources and related technologies related; district heating and cooling grids; underground thermal energy storage systems; hybridization of geothermal energy
Interests: urban building energy modeling; place-based approach; process-driven; data-driven; hybrid modeling; energy efficiency; renewable energy sources; thermal comfort; UHI
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The heating and cooling sector still represents almost half of the energy demand in Europe, amply highlighting that the use of renewable energy sources is fundamental to the faster decarbonising of the energy sector and achieving energy security and independence. This problem is critical in large cities, where high levels of energy consumption are concentrated and where renewable resources are scarce.
Decarbonization could be achieved with the production and distribution of clean thermal energy to district heating and cooling (DHC) networks, with energy efficiency measures, and with the energy sharing within renewable energy communities (RECs). Geothermal energy can be a vital option, since it can be constantly produced without any interrumption conditioned by weather conditions, as is the case with other renewables such as solar or wind energy, and it can be easily integrated to DHC networks and RECs. Another great option is represented by underground thermal energy storage (UTES) systems, which can be a key element in overcoming short-term energy peaks, further developing smart energy networks. UTES systems contribute to the overall efficiency, flexibility, and response time of a DHC system, and they can also be used to cover the peak demand load as well as to provide a backup supply.
Clean and smart energy systems must meet both current and future energy demand, and their assessment should therefore be supported by urban building energy modeling with a place-based approach. This approach makes it possible to meet the energy demand and supply of each building and allows for the aggregation of these results by blocks of buildings and by neighborhods served by different branches of the district heating network. Overcoming the mismatch between energy supply and demand with renewables promotes the faster decarbonisation of future energy systems, moving towards self-sufficiency, but remains a great challenge.
Dr. Jessica Maria Chicco
Dr. Ignasi Herms
Dr. Guglielmina Mutani
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- geothermal energy
- UTES
- clean energy system
- urban building energy modeling
- energy efficiency
- demand-supply modeling
- district heating and cooling
- self-sufficiency
- renewable energy communities
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