The term "geothermal energy" encompasses several resources which differ greatly in terms of use and status of development. The technology of geothermal exploration systems is fully developed and systems are able to establish themselves on the market today. Approximately 1,400,000 metres of geothermal sensors were used each year for exploration purposes in the period from 2008 to 2011. The market success here indicates that the research requirements for this technology have largely been met. In view of this, the focus of support efforts is now primarily on large-scale and complex systems, in particular for combined heating and cooling, as well as for achieving improvements in terms of efficiency and economic viability.

By contrast, hydrothermal sources are only available in certain areas. Depending on the temperature of the water, the heat can be directly utilised for heating purposes, and in particularly favourable circumstances it can also be used for the production of electricity. Due to the very low number of implemented projects to date, there is a substantial need for research and development here.

The third category – the technology of enhanced geothermal systems – has a great deal of potential in Switzerland. Research projects have thus been in progress for a number of years, and these culminated in an initial pilot project: Deep Heat Mining in Basel. The involvement of Swiss researchers in the European enhanced geothermal systems project in Soultz-sous-Forêts (Alsace, France) is another important development in this area. The extraction of heat from rock layers 5,000 metres below the surface is an enormous challenge and requires an extremely broad range of know-how.