The main objective of GO-Forward is to develop and advance a novel methodological approach to make more accurate pre-drilling predictions of geothermal reservoir properties and thus reduce the mining risk based on a detailed characterization of geological processes leading to reservoir formation.

Such a process-based approach presents a paradigm shift with respect to traditional data-driven workflows in that they simulate geological processes, calibrated to geological or geophysical data, rather than extrapolating the properties from those data with geostatistical methods. By knowing and accurately defining the geological processes that lead to rock and reservoir rock formation, reservoir properties can be predicted even in areas with poor data availability.

The key requirement is an appropriate simulation tool that can handle geological complexity and couple it with the physical and geological processes. Such software tools have already been used for the sedimentary environments relevant for the hydrocarbon industry. These tools will be expanded and further developed to honor the diversity of geological environments encountered in Europe for potential geothermal developments.