Public Perceptions of Underground Thermal Energy Storage in local and national contexts

Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) offers the potential to manage seasonal demand for heat, thereby reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The Horizon EU project PUSH-IT (Piloting Underground Storage of Heat In geoThermal reservoirs) is testing three ways to store heat up to 90°C, in mines, boreholes and aquifers at six pilot sites. The project also explores governance, policies, business models, and societal engagement.  

Societal engagement is essential to ensure that such technologies are acceptable, fair and legitimate (Soutar et al., 2024). A key to effective engagement lies in strategic listening (Pidgeon and Fischhoff, 2011), which involves understanding existing public perceptions; a critical area that remains underexplored in the context of underground thermal energy storage (Environment Agency, 2025).   

To address this gap, we conducted a 15-minute online questionnaire (N=5,800) with nationally representative samples (n=1,000) across each of four countries (Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom) and locally representative samples (n=300) in each of six communities within 20 km of each site. 

We analyse public perceptions and understandings of UTES, including its perceived advantages and disadvantages, emotional responses to the technology, trust in stakeholders, and overall levels of support nationally and close to each site. We then outline the implications of our findings for designing effective societal engagement strategies for UTES and other underground energy technologies, thereby contributing to sustainable energy goals. 

Acknowledgements: Funded by the European Union under grant agreement 1011096566 (PUSH-IT project). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them.