University of Glasgow researchers will head a new international collaboration to investigate underground thermal energy storage (UTES) as a route to decarbonising urban heating and cooling.

The Integrated Thermal Energy Storage for Urban Sustainability (INTENSE-US) programme has secured €9m (£7.38m) from Horizon Europe and brings together 18 partners from across the continent.

Starting on 1 January 2027 and running for three and a half years, the research will showcase how geothermal resources, waste-heat recovery, district heating networks, energy geostructures, mine workings and other underground infrastructure can be combined to build next-generation sustainable urban energy systems.

Glasgow, Berlin, London, Vienna and Zagreb will act as testbeds, helping unlock the urban subsurface as a strategic asset for the energy transition and strengthening resilience, sustainability and energy security.

The consortium aims to demonstrate, for the first time in Europe, how promising UTES solutions can be deployed in real-world settings as a core component of decarbonising urban heating and cooling — a key remaining hurdle to cutting climate-warming emissions. Trials in the UK, Germany, Austria and Croatia will explore integration with existing and planned district heating and cooling networks and wider energy systems.

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Researchers will also examine how metro tunnels, legacy mine workings and building foundations can store and exchange heat at varying temperatures without affecting transport operations or groundwater and drinking-water supplies.

Professor Gioia Falcone, Rankine Chair of Energy Engineering at the James Watt School of Engineering and Director of the Glasgow Centre for Sustainable Energy, is INTENSE-US' principal investigator and will coordinate the partners' contributions to the work. She said: "I am delighted that INTENSE-US has this support from Horizon Europe to help us tackle the decarbonisation of heat, which remains one of the toughest challenges on the road to net zero. Through INTENSE-US, we have a unique opportunity to demonstrate how the subsurface can become a key part of future urban energy systems.

"I am excited to begin working with this exceptional consortium of academic, industry, public-sector and innovation partners to advance thermal energy storage for Europe's cities. We look forward to engaging with cities, utilities, infrastructure owners, policymakers and fellow researchers once the project begins at the start of next year."

Alongside the University of Glasgow, participants include the University of Edinburgh; London South Bank University; Technische Universität Berlin; Leuphana University of Lüneburg; University of Zagreb Faculty of Mining Geology and Petroleum Engineering; GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences; RIFS Research Institute for Sustainability at GFZ; Glasgow City Council; London Borough of Islington; PNO Consultants Limited; Townrock Energy Limited; Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe; BVG Projekt GmbH; Energreen Erneuerbare Energiesysteme GmbH; GeoSphere Austria – Federal Agency for Geology, Geophysics, Climatology, and Meteorology; Clyde Gateway Urban Regeneration Company; ECOLOG Institute for Social-Ecological Research and Education; and ClimateView AB.

INTENSE-US is also supported by Berliner Energie Und Wärme GmbH, BTB Energie GmbH, City of Zagreb, European Centre for Advanced Studies, European Geothermal Energy Council, International Energy Agency Energy Storage Technology Collaboration Programme, International Geothermal Association, Scottish Climate Intelligence Service, Scottish Partnership in Energy and Engineering Research & Innovation, and Stadtwerke Hennigsdorf GmbH.