The British Geological Survey (BGS) has updated the UK geothermal catalogue of subsurface temperature measurements, rock thermal conductivity measurements and heat flow calculations.
Detailed subsurface information is required to be able to assess geothermal potential and the best way to exploit it, thereby accelerating the uptake of geothermal energy technologies.
The second digital version of the UK geothermal catalogue includes the addition of nearly 14, 000 more data points from 1,800 sites to inform geothermal assessments. It contains validated intellectual property rights and datasets from BGS-authored papers, new BGS thermal conductivity laboratory measurements as well as a bottom-hole temperature dataset from the UK Onshore Geophysical Library.
The files and an accompanying user guide can be accessed for use under the Open Government Licence, with the acknowledgement ‘Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2026’.
This data adds to the openly available geothermal data, models and information already contained within the UK Geothermal Platform and map explorer.
The UK Geothermal Platform, launched by BGS in 2025, is a freely available geothermal energy information hub providing a map overview of geothermal energy potential in the UK for four technologies, while a map explorer and a data access page provide detailed geoscientific datasets from several organisations. The platform provides national and local-scale information on geothermal potential across shallow and deep technology options, drawing together diverse information to deliver the information needed by heat policy, heat networks, the national zoning model and planning specialists. Users can assess the potential for towns, cities and industrial sites to be retrofitted with geothermal technology, and new development zones can be quickly assessed for strategic use of geothermal energy from the start of the development or planning cycle.
“The open release of the second digital version of the UK geothermal catalogue further adds to over 90 datasets and more than 60 reports that have been available on the UK Geothermal Platform since August 2025,” said Dr Alison Monaghan, head of BGS Geothermal.
“The data informs the feasibility stages of project developments, supporting the growth of the geothermal energy sector. The user guide describes the data sources and the acknowledged limitations with legacy datasets that are included.”