Did you know that in the next 25 years global energy consumption will increase by 50%?. This represents a major challenge for the transition towards renewable and environmentally friendly energy. Therefore, today many research groups are working on the development of new technologies and strategies that promote and accelerate this energy transition.
On top of that, PIXIL project aims to build a R&D network in the field of geothermal energy, which is heat derived within the sub-surface of the earth. Depending upon its attributes, geothermal energy can be utilized for warming and cooling purposes or be used to produce clean power. PIXIL will make use of one of the most efficient HPC architecture and software for computational modeling in the context of geothermal energy.
In particular, BSC researchers are working on developing computational tools for electromagnetic modeling. The idea is simple: join mathematics and supercomputing to generate images similar to gigantic ultrasounds that allow studying, without drilling, the subsoil of the earth, and analyzing for resources of geothermal energy. In other words, these computational codes allow us to “see underneath” for mineral exploration, reservoir monitoring, CO2 storage characterization, and, of course, geothermal reservoir imaging, among others.
PIXIL will demonstrate, with numerical modeling using PETGEM code (developed by BSC), the capability of electromagnetic simulations to improve our knowledge regarding useful substances in the interior of the Earth such as geothermal resources. To achieve this goal, PIXIL promotes collaboration between members of the academy and the industry around geothermal energy.
(*) PETGEM: Parallel edge-based Code for Electromagnetic Modelling. http://petgem.bsc.es/
Note: Illustration 1: Computational domain example for electromagnetic modeling using PETGEM
URL institution profile: https://www.bsc.es/castillo-octavio
ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4271-5015