CHEAP and safe, an European Project for cheaper and safer low enthalpy geothermal applications. A geological context point of view.

The success and widespread diffusion of new technologies are always strictly related to their affordability. Nowadays, the energy price fluctuations and the economic crisis jeopardize the development and diffusion of renewable technologies and sources. With the aim of both reduce the overall costs of shallow geothermal systems and improve their installation safety, an European project has recently took place, under the Horizon 2020 EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The acronym of this project is Cheap-GSHPs, meaning "cheap and efficient application of reliable ground source heat exchangers and pumps"; the Cheap- GSHPs project involves 17 entities among 9 European countries such Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Spain, Switzerland. In order to achieve the planned targets, a holistic approach is adopted, where all involved elements that take part of shallow geothermal activities are here integrated. This project is therefore going to look at many other heat geoexchange subjects. The present work is mainly focused on the underground properties and on their mapping methodologies for ground heat exchange purposes. Ground thermal properties are going to be detected through standardized laboratory methods, in order to provide an updated thermal catalogue for the most common consolidated and unconsolidated rocks among the involved European countries. Moreover, this project is going to suggest an updated underground heat exchange mapping method, according to the previous European and national projects. Cheap-GSHPs project would suggest a new method for the drilling cost estimation, based on the rate of drilling, which is strictly connected to the geological conditions.