Modelling Interactions between Three Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) Systems in Brussels (Belgium)

Featured Application This work evaluates by numerical simulations the respective influences of three ATES systems located in two different aquifers in the center of Brussels. The model is built using Feflow (c), and groundwater flow and heat transport are simulated based on all available data. The results are useful to understand how one of the systems being thermally unbalanced is influencing (i.e., decreasing in the mid- and long-term) the efficiency of the three ATES systems, even if one of them is located in a deeper aquifer. Shallow open-loop geothermal systems function by creating heat and cold reserves in an aquifer, via doublets of pumping and reinjection wells. Three adjacent buildings in the center of Brussels have adopted this type of aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system. Two of them exploit the same aquifer consisting of Cenozoic sands, and started operation in 2014 and 2017, respectively. A previous hydrogeological model developed by Bulte et al. (2021) has shown how the thermal imbalance of one of the systems jeopardizes the thermal state of this upper aquifer. Here, the interactions with a more recent third ATES system located in the deep aquifer of the Palaeozoic bedrock are studied and modelled. After being calibrated on groundwater flow conditions in both aquifers, a 3D hydrogeological model was used to simulate the cumulative effect of the three geothermal installations in the two exploited aquifers. The results of the simulations showed that although the hydraulic interactions between the two aquifers are very weak (as shown by the different observed potentiometric heads), heat exchanges occur between the two aquifers through the aquitard. Fortunately, these heat exchanges are not sufficient to have a significant impact on the efficiency of the individual geothermal systems. Additionally, this study shows clearly that adding a third system in the lower aquifer with a mean power of 286 kW for heating between October and March and an equivalent mean cooling power between April and September is efficient.

Automated summary

This study evaluates the influences of three ATES systems in two different aquifers in the center of Brussels using numerical simulations. The model is built with Feflow software and simulates groundwater flow and heat transport based on available data. The results show how the thermal imbalance of one system affects the efficiency of the three systems, even if one system is located in a deeper aquifer.