Around six months after the start of the joint project, the first face-to-face meeting of the project partners from research and practice took place at the Politecnico de Torino. Despite the local holiday of San Giovanni, intensive meetings were held, progress from the numerous case studies was reported and the next steps were discussed. A joint dinner and a symposium the next day also provided an excellent opportunity to network with the project partners and other experts in the field of energy geostructures.

The aim of the research project is to investigate the energy potential of various underground infrastructures. This includes, for example, large highway tunnels, disused railroad tunnels, sewers, cellar vaults and bunkers. The aim is to examine heat recovery using ground or water heat exchangers, as well as the possibility of storing heat in the ground or by storing water or compressed air within the structures.

More information can be found on the project website (http://www.rockmech.polito.it/regenerate), or on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/company/reuseofexistingtunnels/).