Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage:
An economic, resilient and natural
energy solution for your
building`s climate control

Aquifier Thermal Energy Storage: The basics

Dutch Ates uses Aquifier Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) to maximize earths natural capacity to store heat and cold, to minimize the energy use for your buildings climate control.


Subterranean bodies of groundwater (aquifers) are very suitable to store heat or cold over different seasons.


During summer cool groundwater is used to cool the buidling whilst extracted heat is stored in the aquifer for use in winter.


During winter the warm groundwater from the aquifer can be used to warm the building whilst extracted cold is stored in the aquifer to be used in summer. Then the cycle can start again.

Dutch Ates offers
an environmental friendly,
resilient and affordable
technology to reduce
your energy use.

Aquifier Thermal Energy Storage in short

Climate control for buildings
which stores energy in the
form of heat or cold
in subterranean


ATES is environmental friendly, does not make use of chemicals and does not affect the groundwater ecosystem.

ATES has a
short pay back

Ates is robust, safe
and resillient.

Low noise and low
visual impact in the

In the Netherlands ATES
is a standerd construction
option with
thousands ATES systems
in operation.

Dutch Ates and smart grid technology

We believe that a holistic approach is most effective to create a sustainable building.

Leverage your ATES with smart grid technology.
We optimize your in- building electricity consumption and production (wind, solar) using smart grid technology.

We integrate all your electric appliances, including your ATES, seamless to our intelligent software platform.

By doing so we can:

  • optimize your energy consumption up to 30% additional cost savings
  • make your building more resilient and energy independent
  • get al lot more value out of your battery, sun or wind investments


Frequently asked questions

Is ATES the same as geothermal energy systems?
The simple answer is no. Geothermal energy extracts heat of the earth`s core by drilling into deep layers between 2 and 5 km. An ATES system is regularly using watercarying grounlayers (aquifers) betweem 200 and 500 m deep, which makes drilling much more affordable. An ATES system uses the water to store in stead of extract energy and is a balanced system. It does not extract energy from the earth and works at moderate temperatures (somewhere between 8 and 18 degrees C).
Do ATES systems disturb the natural ecosystem?
No. ATES systems do not make use of chemicals, do not involve destruction of ground layers and only create a very small temperature difference in the groundwater (within 10 K). This has no effect on the grounds ecosystem.
Is every groundcomposition suitable for ATES?
Just as for a geothermal energy system, there are certain demands for the groundcomposition to be suitable for ATES. ATES needs a watercarrying layer (aquifer, preferably sand) at a depth of 150 -500 m beneath the surface. Furthermore restrictions may apply near drinkwater sources and in highly polluted areas.
Can ATES be used in densley populated areas?
Yes indeed. The Netherlands is highly densly populated. Within city centres often ATES systems are realised and operated within 300 meter distance.
We live on a rock solid underground, can we use ATES?
Sure, however for storage we do not use an underground aquifer, but we can use surface water like a lake, sea or river.
 Is an ATES system interesting for only one building?
Yes indeed, buildings from 2.000 m2 have cost effective possibilites to apply ATES. However, exploitation favors larger surfaces.
What energy is used in ATES systems?
An ATES systems uses pumps tot pump up groundwater from the aquifer, both in summer and winter. Also in winter a heatpump is used to upgrade the temperature of the groundwater to be sufficient to heat the building.
Can I apply an ATES with my existing climate control system (HVAC)?
Modern HVAC system often need very little or no adaption to be made suitable for ATES. When replacing older climate control systems, these can be easily made suitable for ATES.
In the Netherlands ATES is a standard construction option with thousands ATES in operation.

About Us

Dutch ATES is an co-operation between experienced partners. Our partners offer the full range of ATES services and products. From policy planning, to realization. From maintenance to financing

Over Morgen

Over Morgen (“about tomorrow” in Dutch) is a green enerrgy consultancy firm striving for cities that are heated and cooled without the use of fosil fuels. Using fosil fuels for heating and cooling is inefficent and polluting. 95% of our buildings are heated and cooled using fosil fuels, but sustainable and affordable alternatives are available. Over Morgen knows which sustainable heating and cooling systems are availble, how they operate and how much they cost. We have smart ICT applications to determine the best strategy to make building’s/ the city’s energy systems more affordable and sustainable.



Priva is leading the way in the development and production of technology to control environmental conditions in greenhouses and buildings. For the building industry, Priva develops and manufactures intelligent building automation systems which ensure a healthy indoor climate and reduce the impact on the environment. Priva has more than 25 years of experience in ATES controls combined with HVAC systems. Our portfolio offers control modules for any existing type of ATES system, including solutions for greenhouses. Priva has offices in nine countries and is represented worldwide in over 100 countries.



We are leading the way and establishing the energy transition through innovative and sustainable energy solutions. We give direction to this change by helping customers (companies, institutions and consumers) to make the transition from fossil to 100% sustainable and the movement towards decentralization, as quickly and cost effectively as possible. ENGIE employs 154,950 people worldwide and achieved revenues of €69.9 billion in 2015.


SUN Energy




Deltares is an independent institute for applied research in the field of water and subsurface with five areas of expertise Flood Risk, Adaptive Delta Planning, Infrastructure, Water& Subsoil Resources and Environment.


TNO connects people and knowledge to create innovations that boost the sustainable competitive strength of industry and well-being of society. This is our mission and it is what drives us, the 3,000 professionals at TNO, in our work every day.


The City of The Hague

The city of The Hague wants to be climate neutral in 2040. For that cause the city takes up a pro-active role in making all heating and cooling systems more sustainable by stimulation and co-operation in (deep) geothermal-, biomass- and all- electric (low temp)- projects.



Energy Transition NY

ET-NY helps Dutch companies establish themselves on the US market.

Dutch Ates in operation


We are sure that ATES can be a viable, efficient and green solution for your new or existing building as well.