From the 22nd until the 26th of May a group of enthusiastic students from Bochum and Delft visited the geothermal active region of Italy around Larderello and the island of Elba. On the first day in the Larderello region we were able to see the modern technology of energy production from geothermal heat with our own eyes and even got the chance to see a short opening of a demonstration well (video below).
The rest of the days were spent on the island of Elba where the group observed how a source of a deep geothermal system looks like. This geothermal system is also a good analog for the source in the Larderello area. The structures within the magma and the difference between intrusions of magma are also clearly visible on the island, which made this place perfect for this excursion.
The last day of the trip we visited a museum and mine in Rio Marina, this mining is the result of the mineralisations that is related to the hydrothermal activity. This place was for more than 2000 years the center of Italy’s iron mining.