Szeged could significantly reduce its dependence on gas for district heating

The City of Sunshine is a European leader in the use of geothermal energy. In Szeged, the gas-based heating systems have been transformed in recent years, and geothermal energy provides heating and hot water for more than 400 public buildings and 27,000 homes.

Thermal water is extracted from two thousand metres

Szeged and its surroundings are geologically well mapped due to the hydrocarbon deposits discovered in the 1960s, which made it easier to identify geothermal drilling sites.
The wells supplying the city produce water at a depth of 2,000 metres at a temperature of nearly 100 degrees Celsius, which maintains a temperature of over 90 degrees Celsius at the surface. The improvements will allow the thermal heat to be used in district heating systems.

By-products from thermal wells are also used

In the framework of a Swiss-Hungarian Cooperation Programme that has just been launched, the recovery of methane extracted with water from nine wells will be implemented in the Geo Hőterm Kft. project.

The development will enable the combustion of methane gas extracted from the thermal wells in Szeged, which provide district heating.

During the project, gas separator equipment will be installed at all nine geothermal production wells of the Szeged district heating system, and the extracted, purified methane gas will be used in modern gas boilers with process-controlled burners.
According to the investor, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the project will provide additional thermal energy to the geothermal-based district heating system by increasing the temperature of the feed-in heating water with the heat from the combusted gas.

Swiss and Hungarian funds may be used for the investment

According to preliminary calculations, the project will replace about 1.8 million cubic metres of natural gas per year with 54 000 gigajoules (GJ) of renewable energy, reducing Szeged's air pollution by 27 534 tonnes of greenhouse gases equivalent to carbon dioxide per year. The total eligible cost of the project is HUF 2 billion, of which the Swiss contribution is around HUF 776 million, the national co-financing is HUF 137 million and the remainder is self-financing.