Tobias Massier
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Techno-environmental Assessment of Geothermal-driven Combined Cooling and Power Generation

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Publication data

Type:
Journal article  Open access
Authors:
Anurag Chidire, Ludwig Irrgang, Christopher Schifflechner, Tobias Massier and Alessandro Romagnoli
Published in:
Renewable Energy, vol. 248
Electronic ISSN: 1879-0682, Print ISSN: 0960-1481
Impact factor: 9.0 (2025)
Publisher:
Elsevier, Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
Publication date:
August 2025
Article no.:
122944
Pages:
1–16
Abstract:
The rising demand for cooling poses significant environmental challenges, especially in regions relying on carbon-intensive grid electricity. In this study, a geothermal-driven combined cooling and power system (GCCPS) containing an absorption chiller (AC) and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) for combined production of power and cooling is proposed. The system’s techno-environmental performance is evaluated over a 30-year lifespan, considering variable ORC outlet temperatures. The net electricity and cooling outputs range from 119 GWhe to 6 GWhe and 899 GWhth to 1548 GWhth, respectively. This highlights the trade-off between electricity and cooling outputs, governed by the ORC outlet temperature. Through life cycle assessment (LCA), the study identifies the environmental hotspots and quantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At an ORC outlet temperature of 130°C, the system achieves annual GHG emission savings of 137 kt CO2eq to 294 kt CO2eq over a 30-year lifespan, significantly outperforming district cooling systems (DCSs) by over 14 times. These findings emphasise the potential of geothermal-driven cooling as a low-carbon solution for achieving decarbonisation goals in rapidly urbanising regions like Southeast Asia.
Keywords:
Geothermal energy, Life cycle assessment, Urban energy systems, Renewable cooling
DOI:

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Format: 
@article{Chidire_TechnoenvironmentalAssessment_2025,
  author    = {Chidire, Anurag and Irrgang, Ludwig and Schifflechner, Christopher and Massier, Tobias and Romagnoli, Alessandro},
  title     = {Techno-environmental Assessment of Geothermal-driven Combined Cooling and Power Generation},
  year      = {2025},
  month     = aug,
  journal   = {Renewable Energy},
  issn      = {1879-0682},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Amsterdam, The Netherlands},
  volume    = {248},
  pages     = {1--16},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.renene.2025.122944},
  keywords  = {Geothermal energy, Life cycle assessment, Urban energy systems, Renewable cooling},
}
@article{Chidire_TechnoenvironmentalAssessment_2025,
  author       = {Chidire, Anurag and Irrgang, Ludwig and Schifflechner, Christopher and Massier, Tobias and Romagnoli, Alessandro},
  title        = {Techno-environmental Assessment of Geothermal-driven Combined Cooling and Power Generation},
  date         = {2025-08},
  journaltitle = {Renewable Energy},
  issn         = {1879-0682},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  location     = {Amsterdam, The Netherlands},
  eid          = {122944},
  volume       = {248},
  pages        = {1--16},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.renene.2025.122944},
  keywords     = {Geothermal energy, Life cycle assessment, Urban energy systems, Renewable cooling},
}
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