Profile

Position:

KIT Junior Research Group Leader "Sustainable Geoenergy"
KIT Associate Fellow
Deputy Head of the State research center Geothermics (LFZG)
Member of the Examination Board of the BSc and MSc program Applied Geosciences
Chairperson of the Institute Staff Board AGW, together with Kevin Altinger

Current projects:

Areas of research:

Shallow geothermal energy and thermal energy storage
Life cycle assessment of renewable energies
Uncertainty analysis and Bayesian statistics
Urban hydrogeology
Building energy simulation

Teaching:

Geodata Analysis I
Engineering Geology: Landslides and Modelling
Engineering Geology: Laboratory and Field Methods
GIS Cartography
Field Methods I: Engineering Geology
Field Exercise Urban Heat Island Karlsruhe

Profile links:

Curriculum Vitae:

07/2023	Venia Legendi (Applied Geosciences)
since 2022	Junior Research Group Leader, Institute of Applied Geosciences, KIT
since 2017	Senior Scientist, Institute for Applied Geosciences, KIT
2015 - 2017	Postdoctoral Research Associate, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, UK
2014	Postdoc, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich
2010 - 2013	PhD Scholarship from the German Environmental Foundation (DBU), Institute of Applied Geosciences, KIT
2010	Diploma (MSc. level) Applied Geology, KIT

Latest publications

Groundwater and geothermal archetypes in Berlin, Germany
Hajizadeh Javaran, M. R.; Kreitmair, M. J.; Makasis, N.; Blum, P.; Menberg, K.
2026. Geothermal Energy, 14 (1), 5. doi:10.1186/s40517-026-00375-8

Co-simulation of building energy and geothermal systems: A review
Yazdani, H.; Blum, P.; Menberg, K.
2026. Energy and Buildings, 350, 116550. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116550

Comprehensive life cycle assessment of selected seasonal thermal energy storage systems
Weise, J.; Bott, C.; Menberg, K.; Bayer, P.
2026. Renewable Energy, 256, 124232. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2025.124232

Quantifying the cooling demand of Manhattan using aerial images
Barth, F.; Menberg, K.; Sulzer, M.; Blum, P.
2025. Energy and Buildings, 349, 116526. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116526

Opportunities, benefits and impacts of shallow geothermal energy
Menberg, K.; Hemmerle, H.; Bayer, P.; Bott, C.; Bidarmaghz, A.; Ferguson, G.; Bloemendal, M.; Blum, P.
2025. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. doi:10.1038/s43017-025-00736-0

Sustainable potential of shallow geothermal heat recycling in Dresden, Germany
Dohmwirth, V.; Menberg, K.; Bayer, P.; Mauder, M.; Blum, P.; Benz, S.
2025. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 383 (2308). doi:10.1098/rsta.2025.0013

Identifying aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) key locations for hospitals in Lower Saxony, Germany
Noethen, M.; Stemmle, R.; Siebert, N.; Herrmann, M.; Menberg, K.; Blum, P.; Bayer, P.
2025. Geothermics, 130, 103334. doi:10.1016/j.geothermics.2025.103334

Depth-specific thermal conductivities of Triassic sandstones
Albers, A.; Glatting, F.; Menberg, K.; Steger, H.; Fliegauf, C.; Schindler, L.; Wilke, S.; Zorn, R.; Blum, P.
2025. Geothermal Energy, 13 (1), 34. doi:10.1186/s40517-025-00359-0

Policies for aquifer thermal energy storage: international comparison, barriers and recommendations
Stemmle, R.; Hanna, R.; Menberg, K.; Østergaard, P. A.; Jackson, M.; Staffell, I.; Blum, P.
2024. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. doi:10.1007/s10098-024-02892-1

Evaluating Fracture Surface Imaging Methods Using Flow Simulations and Air Permeameter Measurements
Fuchs, M.; Hale, S.; Blesch, L.; Rau, G. C.; Menberg, K.; Blum, P.
2024. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 57 (3), 1849–1860. doi:10.1007/s00603-023-03615-6