π Tender Overview
The company Deep Atlas from Groningen will receive a subsidy of more than 38 thousand to purchase a so-called SWIR hyperspectral camera. With this technology it is possible to better estimate whether a geothermal drilling operation will be successful. The company will soon be the first commercial company in the Netherlands to have such a camera. This contributes to making energy use more sustainable. This is the first subsidy from the Innovative and Sustainable SME scheme from the Corona Fund. A total of 1 million is available.Sustainable heatGeothermal energy is a sustainable energy source. Almost half of our energy consumption is spent on heating and has to be converted to sustainable heat sources. Geothermal energy will play an important role in the energy transition as a replacement for fossil natural gas. By using sustainable heat and less fossil fuels we emit less CO 2 . The use of geothermal energy requires deep drilling which requires substantial investment. Deep AtlasDeep Atlas BV is a young company. The company has recently developed a software package to be able to process the large amount of data needed to analyze so-called short-wave infrared SWIR measurements. These are scans of samples of rock from the deep subsurface that are being analyzed for possible drilling. The camera is used to find suitable locations for drilling for geothermal energy. The company works closely with the University of Groningen on this . Innovative and Sustainable SMEsWith the Innovative and Sustainable SME scheme the province supports innovative and sustainable projects by small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs. These are projects that contribute to an economy that is prepared for the future. The scheme stems from the Corona Fund which is intended to help Groningen emerge stronger from the corona crisis.