Vaillant – New Markets for New Technology

With winter approaching, more and more people are painfully aware of hefty hikes this year in energy prices. One environmentally friendly alternative to gas or oil is geothermal energy. Conventional geothermal heating units have cost around 20,000 euros -- but that could change. Heating technology specialist Vaillant is hoping to conquer the market with a new drilling technique using high-pressures jets of water. Vaillant say the new procedure can reduce costs by up to 30 percent. On average, some 600,000 home heating units come in for repair or replacement every year, and many customers want to switch to renewable energy sources. That could represent an opportunity for Vaillant to grow. Grit Hofmann checked out the new technology. -------------------------------------------------------- Water should be bubbling up out of this hydrant in a Düsseldorf suburb. But it's not. At least not yet. Without enough water from the mains, drilling engineer Volker Wittig might have to abandon his project: "The problem is that the flow rate might not be adequate. It does happen sometimes. Either the hydrants are clogged or the pressure in the pipes is too low." But then the water comes gushing out after all. It's needed to operate a new kind of drill for installing a geothermal heating system. Although the idea of tapping heat in the ground is old, the technology for accessing it is brand new. Called geo-jetting, it uses a powerful jet of water to bore a channel through soil and rock. Volker Wittig explains: "The good thing about this technique is that drilling goes faster, and the high-pressure water jet cuts into stone as well. Then we can install our probes securely." They are going to install three geothermal probes under a private garden, at a depth of fifty meters each. The owner of the property had his doubts, but the advantages of this new drilling technique persuaded him. Until now, lots of bore holes were needed. And it was an expensive and time-consuming business. The high-pressure water-drilling method cuts costs by about a quarter, to approximately 15 thousand Euros. And the drilling rig doesn't have to be moved around on the site. Home Owner Gregor Bussmann is convinced of the new technology: "There isn't much room, and if you need to drill three or four holes far enough apart – that wouldn't work. But with this technique you can drill at an angle in various directions from one spot on the surface. Plus it's quicker and cheaper. That is why I decided to go for it." The new geo-jetting technology created a new company. It was founded by Volker Wittig and his colleagues in a university research project. They spent four years developed this drilling system and own the patent. A partner in the firm is the heating systems manufacturer Vaillant. The new firm is called "Vaillant Geosysteme". Volker Wittig is now chief developer at the new company: "We'd reached the point where it was clear we were moving from research to production and application. So we looked for the right partner in industry, with whom we could bring it to market. We did not want our idea to gather dust on a shelf somewhere." For Vaillant, it made perfect sense to join in. The company makes heat pumps – an essential part of such systems. The market is growing by ten per cent a year. Starting in 2009, new buildings in Germany will be required by law to use renewable energy. The company expects this will boost sales of these new ground-source heating systems. Vaillant manager Marc Andree Groos: "We believe that we can reduce costs in the long term. The innovative new technique is cleaner and requires less space. That is why we were keen to secure access to it early on. And it helps us to market our heat pumps. We can offer complete packages--which brings advantages to home owners that other firms cannot offer." Gregor Bussmann, our home owner in Düsseldorf, is spending three times the amount a new oil-fired central heating system would cost. But the investment should have paid off within five years: "I reckon I can save a thousand or fifteen hundred Euros a year in energy costs. And if energy prices continue to rise, the savings will increase accordingly." Another three days of geo-jetting – and within the week, Bussmann's home will be warmed with heat from the earth. He has cancelled his delivery of heating oil for the winter.

DW-World | October 28, 2008

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