On Friday 31 March 2023, the Flemish government approved the extension of the existing exploration permit for deep geothermal energy. VITO was granted the exploration permit in 2018 for a five-year term. As we want to carry out additional exploration activities, an extension of another five years has now been approved. The area where VITO is allowed to conduct exploration activities is below the Balmatt site in the Mol-Dessel region. The aim is to better map the geothermal reserves and gain a better insight into the causes and possible consequences of seismicity associated with geothermal extraction.
Flemish Minister for Environment, Zuhal Demir: "By extending the permit, VITO can carry out further exploration activities for the next five years. The intention is to better map the reserves of geothermal heat and gain an understanding of the factors that play a role in earthquakes. Moreover, all additional knowledge that VITO acquires at the Balmatt site is highly valuable for future geothermal projects in Flanders."
A geothermal exploration permit granted by the Flemish government gives the holder the exclusive right to check in the licensed area in the deep subsurface (deeper than 500 metres) for the presence of extractable geothermal heat. In this case, this is under the Balmatt site in the Mol-Dessel region.
If this exploration phase yields successful results, heat can possibly be extracted from the earth. This would require an exploitation permit. To obtain such a permit, the operator must be able to present a substantiated exploitation plan which, based on the findings from the exploration phase, indicates how much heat can be extracted in which way.
Unexpected challenges
However, VITO experienced delays during the exploration phase because a number of unexpected challenges arose. On the one hand, this involved drilling to a depth of more than four kilometres, the first time in Flanders, and encountering unexpected geological issues. On the other hand, some minor seismic events were encountered during testing of the geothermal power plant.
The plant had to be shut down twice to thoroughly investigate what had happened and make technical adjustments to make further operation as safe as possible. This delay meant that not all the information needed to prepare an extraction plan could yet be gathered before the expiry of the first permit.
The extension of the permit allows VITO to carry out further exploration activities over the next five years. The aim is to better map the geothermal reserves and gain a better insight into the causes and possible consequences of seismicity associated with geothermal extraction.
