Development of an Open-Source Tool for Feasibility Assessment of Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (FATES) based on Design of Experiment (DoE)

We present a techno-economic screening tool for modeling, analysis, and optimization of High Temperature Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (HT-ATES) systems, specifically based on data from the Vienna Basin. A 3D ATES model with high fidelity is constructed using an open-source finite element code, OpenGeoSys, and the ATES parameters (e.g., material properties or geometries) are varied through a Design of Experiment workflow. The first stage of this statistical analysis is to identify significant factors, followed by the second stage to create a response surface model, which efficiently approximates HT-ATES system outputs on a reduced parameter domain. The entire process requires only open-source software including pre-and post-processors, and the workflow is scripted using Python. By eliminating reliance on commercial simulators, this tool facilitates ATES performance assessment, delivering results in mere seconds.