Dr. Sven Fuchs

Function and Responsibilities:
- Group Leader 'Exploration Thermal Geosystems'
- Head of the Thermal Petrophysics Lab ( read more...)
- Lecture at the University of Potsdam
Research Interests:
My research interests focus on the Earth's thermal field and its importance for basic and applied research. That includes a detailed understanding of temperature and heat-flow from surface to lithosphere scale and the associated rock thermal properties.
For mankind, this knowledge is important for any scientific, technological or commercial use of the subsurface. In terms of applications, it is paramount for the exploration and exploitation of resources (geothermal energy, hydrocarbons, mineral resources, etc.) as well as for the storage of solids and energy (air, fluid, gas, nuclear waste, etc.). To realize such projects, I combine geological data from boreholes with geophysical surveys from boreholes (well-log interpretation) and surface (seismic data) as well as with data from laboratory studies of rock physics and chemistry. Core-log integration helps to upscale from core to borehole scale. Such acquired data are implemented in numerical subsurface models that help to get a better understanding of the studied geological system. Further research interests are focusing on hydraulic properties in sedimentary rocks, in particular in granular soils and shallow hydrogeological systems.
Past and ongoing research projects include:
- Exploration of geothermal systems
- Laboratory measurement of rock thermal and hydraulic properties (sedimentary rocks, upper and lower crustal rocks)
- Formation evaluation using core-log integration techniques
- Heat-flow and temperatures in Central and Northern Europe
- Local to regional-scale numerical temperature modelling
I am looking for:
- new scientific collaborations and projects => Interested? Get in contact!
Career:
- 07/2021-ongoing Group Leader, GFZ Potsdam, Section 4.8 Geoenergy, Germany
- 02/2016-06/2021 Postdoc, GFZ Potsdam, Section 4.8 Geoenergy, Germany
- 09/2013-01/2016 Postdoc, Aarhus University, Department for Geosciences, Denmark
- 04/2009-08/2013 Research assistant, GFZ Potsdam, Reservoir Technologies, Germany
- 09/2007-03/2009 Project engineer, industry, Germany
Education:
Personal trainings and certification moduls at the Helmholtz Management Academy, the Potsdam Graduate School (POGS) and the network for academic quality Brandenburg (sqb).
- 04/2009 – 07/2013 Ph.D. student, University of Potsdam, Germany. Title: ‘Well-log based determination of rock thermal conductivity in the North German Basin’
- 04/2010 – 05/2010 Trainee at Kansas Geological Survey, USA
- 10/2001 – 08/2007 Study of ‘Applied Earth Engineering Sciences’; Diploma degree with specialization in Hydrogeology, Technical University of Berlin, Germany. Title: ‘‘Numerical process modeling of incident well flow during controlled overpumping for well development’
- 09/2003–02/2004 Participant at the “European Geotechnical and Environmental Course” (EGEC), provided by FEMP; Berlin and Freiberg (Germany), Wroclaw (Poland)
Projects:
- 2023-2025 ThermoBase - Temperaturmodell sedimentärer Teilgebiete (PI)
- 2023-2024 heatflow@innerspace (PI)
- 2022-2023 Tournemire/Chenille - Fault heat experiment
- 2022-2025 PotAMMO - Potenziale der Aquiferwärmespeicherung in den Modellregionen Mannheim und Offenbach
- 2022-2025 World Heat Flow Database Project (PI)
- 2021-2026 Global Heat Flow Data Assessment Project (PI)
- 2021-... Geothermie Potsdam - „Wärmewende mit Geothermie“
- 2020-2022 geoPuR - Efficient exploration of the geothermal potential in urban areas
- 2019-2021 HI-CAM - Helmholtz Klimainitiative
- 2019-2021 GeoTief Wien - GeoTief EXPLORE (3D) Vienna
- 2018-2019 ESI - Energiesysteminetrgation2050
- 2018-2019 GFZ-driven German-Argentina Network (DeArGeoNet)
- 2017-2020 Geotherm – ‘Geothermal energy from sedimentary reservoirs – Removing constrains for large-skala utilizations’ (project page)
- 2016-2019 EU MSCA project: ITHERLAB - In-situ thermal rock property lab
- 2015-2017 Heat-flow in the Barents Sea (Tectonor)
- 2013-2016 DSF geotermi project: ‘The geothermal energy potential in Denmark – reservoir properties, temperature distribution and models for utilisation’ (Innovation fund Denmark; project page)
- 2011-2015 Interreg 4A GeoPower – ‚Gethermal energy for Southern Jutland‘; project page)
- 2012-2013 Neighbourhood Demonstrators (N-DEMO), (project page EU-EIT Climate-KIC)
- 2009-2012 GeoEnergie (GeoEn – Joint research project on GeoEnergy, BMBF)
Research Boards and Committees:
- since 05/2021: Task Foce Leader (TF 8) International Lithosphere Program
- since 07/2019: Member of the International Heat Flow Commission, Website and database custodian
- since 04/2018: Member of the Geo.X working group ’geothermics’
- since 03/2017: Member of the speakers committee, DGG working group ’geothermics’, German Geophysical Society DGG
Awards:
- 2016/04 EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie – Individual Fellowship (10.2016-03.2019)
- 2016/01 DAAD return fellowship (Potsdam, Germany, 02.2016-06.2016)
- 2012/11 ‘Young Scientists Awards’ (best Ph.D. work) at ‘The Geothermal Congress 2012', Karlsruhe, Germany
- 2010/06 ‘Poster award’ at the Sediment 2010, Potsdam, Germany
- 2007/08 ‘Dr.-Robert-Scheibe’-price for an outstanding geoscientific diploma thesis (Society of sponsors of geosciences and materials science at the Technical University of Berlin)