VESTA - Very-High-Temperature Heat Aquifer Storage

Energy storage on a large scale is one of the key challenges of the energy transition. Eight international partners from Germany, Switzerland and the USA address this challenge in the joint project VESTA. The goal of VESTA is the generic development and demonstration of high-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage (HT-ATES). The involvement of four pilot sites in the DACH (Germany-Austria Switzerland) region in various geologies and project phases allow feedback loops between generic scientific investigations and application of new geothermal technologies. Specifically, the pilot sites shall: 1) demonstrate HT-ATES technology, 2) evaluate technical and non-technical barriers, 3) support development and implementation by providing techniques and optimized component design, 4) provide field data to support coupled process modeling to assess HT-ATES system performance, and 5) support agencies with scientific and technical knowledge as a basis for advancing regulatory provisions. With this scientific program, VESTA shall form a technical-economic basis for future operational concepts.