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Key Capabilities

Introduction

This page outlines the core capabilities of the SAPHEA Tool.

The SAPHEA Tool offers a suite of key capabilities designed to assist stakeholders in evaluating and planning multivalent district heating and cooling networks (geoHC networks) powered by geothermal energy. Central to these capabilities are the Calculation Modules (CMs), which provide robust, transparent, and flexible analytical methods for a wide range of regional and project-specific assessments.

Through its integrated Calculation Modules, the SAPHEA Tool empowers users to conduct techno-economic and socio-economic evaluations, identify suitable areas for district heating networks, estimate geothermal energy potential, and simulate the financial feasibility of geothermal projects.

Core capabilities of the SAPHEA Tool

The key capabilities of the SAPHEA Tool include:

  1. Identification of Potential District Heating Areas
  2. CM: District Heating Potential Areas – User-Defined Thresholds
    • Identifies zones suitable for district heating networks based on user-defined minimum heat demand thresholds per hectare and total area.
    • Outputs GIS layers showing coherent areas meeting the criteria, along with key indicators such as total DH potential and potential DH share of the area's heat demand.
  3. Economic Assessment of District Heating Feasibility
  4. CM: District Heating Potential – Economic Assessment
    • Evaluates the economic viability of implementing district heating networks by estimating heat distribution costs.
    • Considers factors such as construction costs, depreciation time, market share evolution, and maximum allowable trench length.
    • Provides detailed indicators including grid costs per MWh, trench lengths, total CAPEX, and number of viable DH areas.
  5. Supply Analysis for District Heating Systems
  6. CM: District Heating Supply (upcoming)
    • Will support the assessment of heat supply availability for district heating networks.
    • Aims to complement demand-side analysis with supply-side feasibility evaluations.
  7. Estimation of Shallow Geothermal Energy Potential
  8. CM: Shallow Geothermal Potential
    • Will assess the potential for shallow geothermal systems (e.g., borehole heat exchangers, open-loop systems).
    • Supports planning for decentralised, low-temperature geothermal applications.
  9. Techno-Economic Simulation of Deep Geothermal Systems
  10. CM: SAPHEA Geophires
    • Simulates the economic and technical performance of hydrothermal-based district heating and cooling systems using the adapted GEOPHIRES model.
    • Estimates indicators such as Levelized Cost of Heat (LCOH), drilling and surface equipment costs, O&M costs, bottom-hole temperatures, and production profiles.
    • Enables scenario-based analysis through the adjustment of geological, technical, and financial parameters.
  11. Large-Scale Geothermal Heat Pump Assessment
  12. CM: Large-Scale Geothermal Heat Pumps (LSGEOHP)
    • Will estimate the potential for implementing large-scale geothermal heat pump solutions.
    • Supports planning for energy-efficient district heating and cooling based on shallow geothermal resources.

Additional Features Supporting All Modules

  • Custom Area Selection: Users can define their working regions flexibly (NUTS regions, LAU2, custom hectare grids).
  • User Data Integration: Ability to upload custom datasets (e.g., heat density maps, floor area density maps).
  • Interactive GIS Visualization: Map-based results exploration with layer management, symbology, and download options.
  • Results Export: Download outputs in various formats, including raster data, shapefiles, Excel reports, and text summaries.

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How To Cite

Ardak Akhatova, in SAPHEA-Wiki, Key Capabilities

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Authors And Reviewers

This page was written by Ardak Akhatova e-think.

This page was reviewed by Giulia Conforto e-think.

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License

Copyright © 2025: Ardak Akhatova

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 International License.

SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0

License-Text: https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html

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Acknowledgement

We would like to convey our deepest appreciation to the HORIZON Europe Actions SAPHEA Project (Grant Agreement number 101075510), which co-funded the present investigation.

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