Geothermal Institute
Research partnerships
University Partners
The collaborative research environment at the University of Auckland presents the ideal platform for interdisciplinary projects. Staff and students at the Geothermal Institute have access to a number of related faculty and specialist facilities at the various centres and departments:
Business School
The Business School is home to a number of research centres, including the Energy Centre. The Business School also conducts research across the 7 academic departments. The School’s research makes a critically important contribution to the economic and social development of New Zealand and the wider region.
Based in the university’s economics department, the Energy Centre aims to provide research policy analysis and educational programmes to help business and government confront energy issues of national significance to New Zealand. The Centre’s research programme includes energy, resource and environmental markets. Researchers are engaged in the application of economics to the real world challenges of energy and natural resources.
Relevant project topics include economics of renewable energy policies, development and integration of renewable energy, market design and analysis and renewable energy contracts.
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Engineering Science
Engineering science is the discipline underpinning all modern engineering practice. The key feature of engineering science is the use of advanced mathematics and technology to solve real world engineering, business and industrial problems.
Industrial Information and Control Centre (I2C2)
I²C² is the national focal point for research, study, training and consultancy in industrial information and control. The centre aims to improve New Zealand’s capability in advanced process simulation and control research.
Relevant research projects include geothermal reboiler process development modelling, modelling of integrated energy generation, and design optimisation of an organic Rankine cycle process.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
The department focuses on offering tangible solutions for the built environment, providing research and education in civil and environmental engineering.
The department’s geotechnical laboratory has been employed in providing material property input to subsidence modelling at the Wairakei and Tauhara fields in New Zealand.
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
Chemical and materials engineering is involved in building and sustaining the world around us as well as designing new materials for the future.
Relevant projects include energy storage, and separation processes.
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The Department of Mechanical Engineering is dedicated to the development of new technologies. Research areas include Mechanics of materials and composites, manufacturing systems, thermofluids research, dynamics and control and mechatronics research.
Faculty of Science
The University of Auckland is home to the largest Department of Physics at any New Zealand university. The department's research ranges from fundamental particle physics to the development of advanced technologies.
A wide range of research areas are represented by academic staff in the School of Chemical Sciences. Research in analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry supported by structural and computational chemistry reflects the department’s strength in the traditional core of the discipline.
The School of Environment’s, multi-disciplinary, group of scientists investigate natural resources including geothermal energy, hydrocarbons, minerals and aggregates. They use state-of-the-art techniques and tools on a wide range of outcrop and subsurface data sets.
Relevant research topics include geothermal reservoir characterisation, structural controls on fluid flow, geochemistry, microseismicity and rock physics.
External collaborators
The Geothermal Institute collaborates with a number of professional organisations and educational institutions on projects that require regional connections or specialist expertise and experience. The institute continues to grow its global reach, and collaborates with partners in New Zealand and overseas.
New Zealand
- Callaghan Innovation
- GNS Science
- Massey University
- University of Canterbury
- Victoria University of Wellington
International
- Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
- Institut Teknologi Bandung
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Stanford University
