The ‘Campi Flegrei Deep Drilling Project’: from Risk Mitigation to Renewable Energy Production

Large calderas are the most dangerous volcanoes on the Earth. They are produced by collapse during explosive super-eruptions, which themselves are capable of triggering global catastrophes comparable to giant meteorite impacts. The mechanisms for unrest and eruptions at calderas are, to a large extent, unknown and, as demonstrated by volcanological research in the last few decades, they may be very different from those characterizing more commonly studied stratovolcanoes. The presence of large aquifer systems in these areas, with large magma chambers underneath, put them among the ‘hottest’ areas in the world, which means there is not only risk, but also ideal conditions for converting the exceptional underground heat into clean energy. Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy) represents an ideal natural laboratory to fully understand the mechanisms of caldera dynamics and to develop techniques for eruption forecast and effective risk mitigation. Drilling deep in this area could give precise insight into the processes of eruptions and unrest at this and other similar areas in the world. Furthermore, studying the aquifer systems over the whole depth and exploring higher depths where supercritical fluids are likely to be found, can give a strong impetus to the exploitation of geothermal energy, which is probably now the only clean source – certainly in Italy, but possibly also in the world – able to effectively replace fossil fuels for electricity generation.