EKT Energy Foundation supports TTS Inova’s textile geothermal probe

(CONNECT) This year, the EKT Energy Foundation, launched in 2022, is again supporting companies that are making innovative use of renewable energies. According to a statement, the foundation, which is set up by the Thurgau-based energy supplier EKT, has selected four companies from more than 30 applications. Among them is TTS Inova AG.

The company from Thayngen in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen specializes in home and technical textiles. Among its developments are coaxial geothermal probes made from durable textiles. These do not require the borehole to be backfilled with a bentonite-cement mixture, meaning the probes can be inserted in areas with increased groundwater protection.

Now, the EKT Energy Foundation is supporting a pilot plant operated by the company in the Thurgau. The aim is to shed light on technical and regulatory issues, including dismantling the probes, groundwater compatibility, and safe removal of the support piping after the textile probe’s installation. The project is being supported by the Institute for Energy Systems at OST – Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, as well as by water protection experts from different cantons.

The EKT Energy Foundation is also supporting Grob Gemüse AG in Schlattingen in the canton of Thurgau, Borobotics AG in Winterthur, and cross-ING Bodensee AG in Kreuzlingen, also in Thurgau. “All newly supported applications have in common that they aim to make the use of renewable energies more efficient as well as enable new applications,” Fabian Etter, President of the EKT Energy Foundation, is quoted as saying. “The Foundation Board believes that the supported projects and companies have great potential to solve current challenges in the use of renewable energies.” ce/ug