Agreement to drill a geothermal energy well for the Laakso Joint Hospital

Havainnekuvassa uusi sairaalarakennus viistosti ilmasta kuvattuna.

Real estate limited company Laakso Joint Hospital (Kiinteistöosakeyhtiö Laakson yhteissairaala) has signed an agreement for the drilling and end-to-end delivery of a geothermal energy well with Hanjin D&B (Drilling and Boring). In addition to the drilling work, the agreement includes well design, fixtures, test runs, as well as user training for the client’s representatives.

The target depth of the energy well is around 3,000–3,500 metres. Provided that the implementation of the first well is successful, two similar wells can be ordered under the agreement with the same terms and conditions as the first well. The total value of the agreement is EUR 14.5 million, of which the first well accounts for EUR 5.9 million and the next two wells for EUR 4.3 million each. 

Drilling of the first well will begin in spring 2025. Hanjin D&B will implement the energy well using its water hammer drilling technology. The wells will be located next to the hospital area at the Laakso’s field. Heat from the wells will be led to the hospital’s technical facilities, where the necessary equipment, including heat pumps and exchangers are located. This equipment will transfer the geothermal heat to the hospital’s local district heating.

For a long time, the Laakso Joint Hospital project has studied a variety of possibilities to use geothermal energy as part of the hospital’s heat production. The aim was to find the most ecological way to drill hard granite safely and to prevent the gaps and cracks on the rock surface from being filled with drilling sludge. The water hammer drilling technology developed by South Korean Hanjin D&B is particularly suitable for this purpose. Once successfully completed, it will be one of the deepest geothermal wells to have been drilled in Finland to date, and the deepest drilled with a water hammer technology in Europe.

“Geothermal wells are ideal for a densely built city — a deep well doesn’t take up space and it generates an unsurpassed amount of local environmentally friendly energy compared to commonly used geothermal heating. As with any new technology, it does involve risks, of course, with regard to issues such as bedrock quality at great depths and the heat production capacity of the completed well. These risks will be managed under the agreement. The benefits of the project, if implemented successfully, will be so significant that both owners of the Laakso Joint Hospital project — the City of Helsinki and HUS — are ready to back it,” says Sari Hildén, Chair of the Board of real estate company Laakso Joint Hospital (Kiinteistöosakeyhtiö Laakson yhteissairaala).

For more information

Antti Hyökki, Property Manager,real estate company Laakso Joint Hospital (Kiinteistöosakeyhtiö Laakson yhteissairaala), tel. +358 40 194 1934, [email protected]

Marko Virtanen, CEO, real estate company Laakso Joint Hospital (Kiinteistöosakeyhtiö Laakson yhteissairaala), tel. +358 139 4300, [email protected]

Anna Tainio, Communications Manager, real estate company Laakso Joint Hospital (Kiinteistöosakeyhtiö Laakson yhteissairaala), tel. +358 40 841 3600, [email protected]

The City of Helsinki and HUS are reforming the Laakso Hospital area. This construction project is called the Laakso Joint Hospital. The area will be built up in phases from 2022 to 2030. The Laakso Hospital will house psychiatric and neurological treatment and rehabilitation and medical care facilities. The Laakso Joint Hospital project will also build new premises for forensic psychiatry in the Ohkola area of Mäntsälä.

For more information about Hanjin D&B, visit the company’s website .

For more information on geothermal energy, visit the website of the Geological Survey of Finland GTK .