Energy geostructures: analysis and design

Professionals – such as civil and energy engineers, architects, urban project managers or geologists – and scientists who want to acquire knowledge on the energy, geotechnical and structural performance of energy geostructures.

The course will be given in English.

Requirements

• No specific experience with energy geostructures is needed
• Basic knowledge of soil and structural mechanics

Participants should bring their own laptop (for use during the practical application exercises)

The application of environmentally friendly technologies that exploit renewable energy sources is key to follow international agreements for the development of low-carbon buildings and infrastructures.

Energy geostructures are an innovative, multifunctional technology that can be used to address the aforementioned challenge. By coupling the role of the ground structures with that of the geothermal heat exchangers, energy geostructures can serve as structural supports as well as heating and cooling elements for buildings and infrastructures.

How can energy geostructures be analysed and designed from a geotechnical and structural point of view? What will be the energy performance of energy geostructures over time?

• Understand the thermal and mechanical behaviour of energy geostructures, with reference to the latest scientific achievements
• Be able to perform the energy, geotechnical and structural design of energy geostructures
• Learn how to exploit current standards available at the European level (e.g., the so-called “Eurocodes”) for the design of energy geostructures
• Experiment with practical exercises all the key steps involved in the analysis and design process of energy geostructures
• Learn on some practical examples of recent projects worldwide

Day 1

• Geothermal and waste thermal energy: principles and opportunities
• Energy geostructures in new and existing constructions
• Installation of energy geostructures and other shallow geothermal technologies

Day 2

• Thermal characterization of sites
• Energy analysis and design of energy piles
• Geotechnical and structural analysis and design of energy piles
• Hybrid energy geostructure systems – Part I

Day 3

• Hybrid energy geostructure systems – Part II
• Energy analysis and design of energy walls, slabs, and tunnels
• Geotechnical and structural analysis and design of energy walls, slabs, and tunnels

Teaching approach

• Optimum balance between theory and practice (application sessions including analytical and numerical simulation exercises)
• Teaching based on cutting-edge scientific achievements
• Case studies based on real energy geostructure projects, for which the Programme Directors worked as expert consultants

A certificate of attendance will be delivered at the end of the course.

Laboratory of Soil Mechanics (LMS), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)

Programme Directors

• Prof. Lyesse Laloui, Ph.D.
  Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
• Prof. Alessandro F. Rotta Loria, Ph.D., P.E.
  Northwestern University, Chicago, U.S.A.

Invited speakers

• Dr Elena Ravera
  COO, GEOEG, Switzerland
• Mr Nicolas de Varreux
  Shallow Geothermal S.M.E., ENOWANEOM, Saudi Arabia
• Ms Margaux Peltier
  CEO, ENERDRAPE, Switzerland
• Dr Reza Sohrabi
  Geothermal Dept. Head, GRISONI GROUP
• Mr Luis de Pereda Fernández
  Architect, ENERES, Spain

Dates and schedule

• Tuesday, September 9, 2025
• Wednesday, September 10, 2025
• Thursday, September 11, 2025

From 9 am to 5 pm (UTC+2)

Course venue

The participant can choose to follow the training in one of the following three formats:

• In person on the UNIL-EPFL campus (Lausanne, Switzerland) on September 9, 10, and 11, 2025
• Online synchronously on September 9, 10, and 11, 2025
• Online asynchronously between September 9 and October 3, 2025

Course fee

1,900.- Swiss Francs*, including:

• Course material
• Three-month license of academic version of the Thermo-Pile software

* 10% special discount for contributing members of EPFL Alumni

Registration deadline

June 9, 2025

Number of participants is limited.

Registrations after the deadline may still be possible depending on availability. Please reach out to Caroline Buongiovanni for more information at caroline.buongiovanni@unil.ch.

• EPFL News, 01.11.2019