Report on the The 12th Asian Geothermal Symposium (AGS12) held November 10th (Saturday) – 12th (Monday)
The 12th Asian Geothermal Symposium (AGS12) was held at Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon, Korea on 10-12 November 2018, co-organized by Renewable Energy Research Center (RENRC), AIST and KIGAM, with a support of Asia-Western Pacific Regional Branch (AWPRB) of International Geothermal Association (IGA). Prior to this symposium, a geothermal workshop "Geothermal Direct Use for a Green Economy" was held by International Energy Agency - Geothermal Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA Geothermal) on 9 November at the KIGAM campus. The participants visited Sejong Special Autonomous City to see huge ground-source heat pump (GSHP) systems on 10 November. Then the AGS12 sessions followed on 11 and 12 November. Both AGS12 and IEA workshop were open to anyone who are interested in technology related to geothermal energy use.
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AGS12 Participants, at Nuri Hall, KIGAM (12 November 2018) |
The theme of AGS12 is “Technology for geothermal energy use in harmony with society.” 85 participants attended to AGS12. This unique international symposium aims to encourage technical information exchange to promote geothermal energy use in the world, especially in Asian region.
In the opening session of the AGS12 on day 1 (11 November), a welcome speech was given by Dr. Yoonho Song on behalf of Dr. Bok Chul Kim, president of KIGAM, stressing that AGS12 is held at special occasion of KIGAM’s 100th anniversary from its origin and 70th anniversary from its foundation. Then opening notes was given by Dr. Kasumi Yasukawa, AIST, mentioning that it is the second time to hold AGS in KIGAM and since the first time in 2004, AIST and KIGAM have been co-sponsoring AGS with a strong partnership. During lunch time of day 1, Annual General Meeting of AWPRB, IGA was held at the venue led by Dr. Toshihiro Uchida, AIST.
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Welcome speech by Dr. Yoonho Song, KIGAM (11 November) |
Topical things about AGS12 sessions are “Resource Assessment” sessions on day 1 and “Social Aspect” session on day 2. The former includes eight presentations from eight countries, followed by discussion on geothermal play types, led by Dr. Inga Moeck, Germany. It is the first time to provide discussion session in AGS symposia. The concept of “play type” has its origin in petroleum business and introduced to geothermal business rather recently. It seems categorization of geothermal reservoirs, especially for high enthalpy reservoirs, is quite hard, but it may better start discussion worldwide. The latter, “Social aspect” session consists of only three presentations, but each of them is quite unique and suitable for the theme of AGS12. The first presentation was given by Dr. Adele Manzella, Italy, an invited speaker by KIGAM, titled “Dissemination and social studies for geothermal market uptake in Italy.” It was also the first time to have a session of “Social aspect” in AGS symposia. For the program of AGS12, please visit our web page:
On 10 November, AGS12 participants visited Sejong Special Autonomous City to see gigantic GSHP systems in City Hall and Research Institute Buildings. It should be noted that most of government buildings have been moved from Seoul to Sejong recently. The government building complex in Sejong is divided into three zones and total building area reaches 607,555 m2. Total installed capacity of GSHP exceeds 20 MWt and covers more than 38% of heating and cooling load of the buildings. 70% of geothermal energy extraction is from borehole heat exchangers through 1,190 boreholes of 200 m deep and total length of holes reached 238 km. 30% of heat exchangers are using ground water wells of around 400 m deep. Zone 1 of the building complex started its operation in 2012, Zone 2 in 2013 and Zone 3 was completed in 2014. GSHP for other public buildings including City Hall, Research Institute Buildings, etc. in the Sejong City has also been recently installed.
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The Sejong city hall, heated and cooled by GSHP (10 November) |
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Gigantic GSHP system at underground of Sejong city hall (10 November) |
After visiting Sejong, AGS12 participants enjoyed short trip to Gapsa temple in Gongju, where autumn color and traditional Korean architecture welcomed the participants.
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Autumn leaves at Gapsa temple (10 November) |
All technical papers presented in AGS12 are uploaded to IGA Geothermal Database.
(The link will direct you to a third-party site.)
Organizers are very grateful to IEA Geothermal because holding AGS symposia in conjunction with IEA geothermal workshop attracted many participants from Asia, Oceania and Europe.