Evolution Of Concepts For The Geothermal Projects In The Upper Rhine Graben

Abstract

The Upper Rhine Graben (URG) is a geological structure from the European Cenozoic Rift System. It is characterized by a series of thermal anomalies interpreted as the signature of large scale natural brine advection occurring inside a nearly vertical multi-scale fracture system cross-cutting both deep-seated Triassic sediments and Paleozoic crystalline basement (Baillieux et al., 2013; Pribnow and Schellschmidt, 2000; Schellschmidt and Clauser, 1996). Sedimentary formations of the URG host oil fields widely exploited in the past which exhibit exceptionally high temperature gradients. Thus, geothermal anomalies are superimposed to the oil fields (Figure 1). Since the last 35 years, geothermal projects were developed in France, Germany and Switzerland in order to exploit deep geothermal energy.