EGS Reservoir Simulation: Tools, Challenges and Innovations
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "H: Geo-Energy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 December 2025 | Viewed by 15
Special Issue Editors
Interests: enhanced geothermal systems; heat storage; magentotellurics; gravity; monitoring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Recently, major progress has been achieved in creating Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGSs) in tight granitic rock formations, demonstrating the feasibility of engineered reservoirs in previously inaccessible regions. As a result, EGSs have emerged as a promising and scalable solution for harnessing the Earth's vast subsurface heat, offering a baseload energy source that is not geographically limited by natural hydrothermal resources.
The simulation of EGS reservoirs plays a critical role in their successful development. High-fidelity modeling of the complex thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical (THMC) coupled processes within tight to fractured rock formations is essential for understanding reservoir behavior, optimizing heat extraction, and improving system longevity. However, these systems present unique technical challenges—such as pre-existing and newly created fracture intersection, fluid–rock–proppant interactions, induced seismicity, and long-term reservoir sustainability—that require the advancing and developing innovative simulation tools and methodologies.
This Special Issue aims to showcase the latest advances in modeling and simulation for EGSs, highlighting state-of-the-art numerical methods, field-scale applications, data integration techniques, and emerging trends in digitalization and AI-assisted reservoir engineering.
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Thermo–hydro–mechanical–chemical (THMC) simulation in EGS reservoirs;
- Fracture propagation modelling in naturally fractured rock mass;
- Proppant transport, settlement, embedment in EGS stimulation and operation;
- Innovative well (e.g., parent–child wells) and stimulation (e.g., zipper fracking) design;
- Induced seismicity prediction and mitigation through simulation;
- Fracture network permeability evolution due to geochemical reaction;
- Data assimilation and uncertainty quantification in reservoir simulations;
- AI and machine learning in geothermal reservoir modeling;
- Case studies and field-scale applications of EGS simulation;
- Integration of geophysical monitoring data into simulation workflows;
- Coupled simulation of surface and subsurface systems;
- Simulation tools for sustainability, performance optimization, and risk assessment.
We invite researchers, modelers, and practitioners from academia, government, and industry to contribute to this Special Issue and help shape the future of EGS development through cutting-edge simulation technologies—we look forward to your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Eva Schill
Dr. Wencheng Jin
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- multiphysics and multiscale modeling
- enhanced geothermal systems (EGS)
- reservoir stimulation
- induced seismicity
- data assimilation & integration for modeling
- AI and machine learning
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