European Geothermal conference 2019

Unique site visit Open Innovation Centre for Well Technology

TNO recently started an Open Innovation Centre for Well Technology (OICW) in Rijswijk, with support from the Ministry of Economic Affair, the province of South Holland, the municipality of Rijswijk, EBN and in cooperation with Academia (among others Technical University of Delft and University of Utrecht).

Towards smart and sustainable wells

The main focus of the center is to reduce the Total Cost of Owner-ship or Lifecycle Cost which is essential for the economic success of geo-energy applications in general and geothermal in particular. It furthermore addresses — in a transparent and evidence based manner — the safety of subsurface activities and to the societal acceptance of these activities. A consortium of universities, research institutes, public parties and industry will be at the core of a R&D program, test & qualification projects and education & training programs. Yet, the center is open to companies for the execution of their own projects

Unique full scale technology

The Open Innovation Centre for Well Technology has started its first projects early 2019 and plans to start integrated research programs within the next two years. The unique size of the infrastructure offered by the center will facilitate full scale technology and product development and qualification prior to field implementation.
The site offers amongst others, a full size rig, installations for mechanical and hydraulic testing, multiple flow loops and two drill holes for testing purposes. It has inside and outside work floors that are fully equipped with hydraulic ring lines, multiple overhead cranes and offers sufficient height at all locations. The facilities offer a base functionality which can be tailored to the specific project requirements.