Subsurface energy and decarbonisation
The partner interview
Sylvain Waserman Chairman and CEO of the French ecological transition Agency (Ademe)
Why did you sign a framework agreement with BRGM?
Sylvain Waserman — In January 2024, Ademe signed a five-year framework agreement with BRGM, strengthening our collaboration in the interests of sustainable management of subsurface resources. While our relationship goes back a long way, it has now taken on a new dimension. This is because geothermal energy is a huge challenge! Of all existing technologies, particularly for building heating networks, only one truly meets the challenges of the ecological transition, namely the need for heat in winter (mitigation, with a reduced carbon impact) and cooling in summer (adaptation, particularly to severe heatwaves): near-surface or deep geothermal energy. This partnership comes at a time when pooling our know-how can give a boost to geothermal energy and the use of the subsurface to meet the challenges of the ecological transition and strengthen France’s energy sovereignty.
However, geothermal energy faces a number of obstacles…
S. W. — espite the appeal of this solution, it has to be said that it is not performing at the level we might legitimately expect. Concerning near-surface geothermal energy two factors are currently holding us back: the cost of drilling down to 200 metres, but also the preconceived ideas of professionals and project developers about these costs. We need supply to far outweigh demand in order to make the solution more affordable. In addition, a lack of knowledge of certain regions limits the use of deep geothermal energy outside areas of historical development. Ademe and BRGM are working to improve knowledge through joint programmes such as Geoscan, so that our regional offices can provide better support to local authorities.
What is the nature of your collaboration with BRGM?
S. W. — It also covers other areas: the geological storage of CO2, for which we need to be attentive and cautious; and ‘white’ hydrogen, from searching for it in the subsurface to studying the possibilities of using it, the technologies to be deployed and underground storage solutions. On all these issues, we need objective actors like BRGM to offer a scientific interpretation of the situation so that politicians can take decisions. Working with BRGM is therefore of the utmost importance: it’s essential to cross-fertilise our views as scientists and experts from different backgrounds. We build bridges and synergy between our teams, without duplicating each other’s skills.
