Professor Jeroen Van Hunen

Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences

What do you do?

I am a professor in computational geoscience in the department of Earth Sciences at Durham University. I worked for over 25 years on modelling Earth systems and dynamics, ranging from large-scale processes such as mantle convection and plate tectonics, to smaller-scale processes such as underground CO₂ storage. In recent years, I focussed on mine water geothermal heat extraction and storage. All of these processes have in common that they involve movement of fluids of varying compositions and heat exchange.

How are you involved in this area of science? 

I am the Principal Investigator (PI) of a UKRI-funded research project called ‘Geothermal Energy from Mines and Solar-Geothermal heat’ (GEMS), that explores the various challenges involved in using water from flooded and abandoned mines as a sustainable heat source to warm our homes.

In this project, a group of researchers from Durham University and the British Geological Survey investigate the feasibility of heat extraction from abandoned coal mines, the possibility of long-term heat storage, the community aspects of introducing this new energy source, and the economic viability of it.

My interest in mine water heating developed several years ago, initially to model heat extraction from mine water as it is abstracted from and re-injected into abandoned coal mines, and the re-heating of this mine water as it flows through the mines back to the abstraction point. This interest gradually widened into the wider engineering and socio-economic aspects of this too.

What do you love about this topic?

Mine water heating has significant societal and economic relevance, which makes it a great project to work on. It is nice to know that our research is not just purely academic, but may contribute to creating a low-carbon future. This also means that there is significant interest from local councils, industry, government bodies, and the general public. Mine water heating is also a very multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary problem that can only be tackled when all aspects are considered, and we all work together.

How does this work deliver real-world impact?

Building a net-zero society is one of the biggest global challenges that we face, and we need to significantly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Most UK homes are still heated with gas boilers, so we urgently need to change this. Roughly one in four homes is built above a mine, so using the huge mine heat resources seems an obvious way to decarbonise our heating. But if we want to tap into this resource on a large scale, we have several technical, social and economic questions to address, and this is exactly what we are working on.