Hannes Hofmann, PostDoc in GFZ section Geothermal Energy Systems, has been awarded the Young Scientist Prize of the Federal Association of Geothermal Energy. The prize was awarded today as part of the German Geothermal Congress (DGK), which took place from 27 to 29 November 2018 in Essen.

The German Geothermal Association awards this prize for the promotion of young scientists and in "recognition of the performance of young scientists in the field of geothermal energy". According to the jury, Hofmann receives the award for "his outstanding scientific work in the field of quantitative description of the dynamic behavior of geothermal reservoirs, their hydraulic stimulation, and their modeling with different model approaches".

Hannes Hofmann's PhD thesis at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, dealt with the issue of increasing the productivity of geothermal reservoirs in northern Alberta, Canada. While working at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, he modeled the reuse of decommissioned natural gas fields for geothermal purposes.

At GFZ, Hofmann is currently working on site-adapted stimulation concepts in the EU project DESTRESS, 'Demonstration of soft stimulation treatments of geothermal reservoirs'. Next year, he will coordinate the operative stimulation work on a well near Reykjavik, Iceland, in close collaboration with Icelandic partners.

GFZ is a traditional partner of the DGK and this year presented ten lectures and three posters. In addition, the final conference of the project GeoWell, ‚Innovative materials and designs for long-life high-temperature geothermal wells‘, in which the GFZ section Geothermal Energy Systems is significantly involved, will take place within the frame of the DGK 2018. (ak)

• More information on the Geothermal Energy Congress