Pioneering lab to study mine water heating
22nd January 2025
UK: The Mining Remediation Authority has established a pioneering research laboratory in Gateshead to expand the potential of mine water heat technology.
The Living Laboratory project is described as a significant milestone in sustainable heat research, being the only location in the world where thermal and hydrogeological behaviour can be studied between operational mine water heat schemes.
It is located in the vicinity of three mine water heat schemes. These include Gateshead Energy Company’s mine water heat network – the largest of its kind in Great Britain and one of the largest in Europe – and another privately-funded pioneering scheme nearby at Lanchester Wines warehouses.
This setup will enable the study of thermal and hydrogeological behaviour between multiple mine water heat schemes within the Walker mining block in Tyne and Wear.
The Living Laboratory will provide open-access data that will support future decisions on mine heat access permissions and agreements.
The scheme was supported by Gateshead Council, who allowed work to take place on their sites. The project involved drilling four boreholes and installing state-of-the-art monitoring equipment to gather crucial data.
The data generated will complement the research work under way at the mine water energy observatory developed in Glasgow by the British Geological Survey (BGS).
This is part of the UK Geoenergy Observatories project, comprising two at-scale facilities for research and innovation into shallow geothermal and underground thermal energy storage.
“Our Living Laboratory will provide invaluable insights into the behaviour of mine water heat systems and help us understand how multiple schemes co-exist within the same region,” said Dr Fiona Todd, a geoscientist at the Mining Remediation Authority who led the project.
“This research is crucial for maximising the opportunity presented by mine water heat and supporting its development as a reliable, low-carbon heat source across the UK.”
The Mining Remediation Authority is to host a series of webinars next month to provide insight into accessing low-carbon heat from mine water.
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