THERMOCAL Project

This webinar will provide an overview of the THERMOCAL project.

THERMOCAL (THERMOphysical properties of CALedonian rock materials to de-risk geothermal development)

This is the fourth webinar in our 2026 Geothermal Webinar Series.

The bilateral UK-Norway THERMOCAL (THERMOphysical properties of CALedonian rock materials to de-risk geothermal development) project aims to systematically acquire a substantial empirical thermogeological data set across the terranes of the Caledonian Orogen, and associated plutons and Precambrian basement, in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Norway.

In all three nations, the main form of geothermal exploitation is currently via relatively shallow (<300 m) ground source heat pump (GSHP) installations, typically coupled to borehole heat exchangers, although all are actively engaged in consideration of deeper geothermal prospects.

Three key rock thermophysical properties, which are employed in the design of GSHP and deep geothermal systems, are systematically measured in THERMOCAL: thermal conductivity, volumetric heat capacity and internal radiogenic heat production. The first two properties are determined in the laboratory, the last by airborne, downhole and hand-held field nuclide-specific gamma-ray spectrometry. The project is grounded in rigorous interlaboratory quality control, ring-testing and method harmonisation, together with consideration of orientation, state of weathering and state of saturation of samples.

THERMOCAL aims to integrate newly acquired data with existing data sets in the UK and Norway. It considers variation within data sets for given lithologies to evaluate how variance and uncertainty can be communicated and incorporated into geothermal design. It also considers how the empirical data can be used to refine models of shallow GSHP, deep geothermal systems, and crustal heat transfer.

Webinar Speaker:

• Prof. Gioia Falcone, Rankine Chair of Energy Engineering - The University of Glasgow