WKO connection at Healthy Ageing Campus gets eye-catching design

The University of Groningen (UG) and UMCG are taking a major step toward energy-neutral management with the Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES/WKO) system at the Healthy Ageing Campus. Recently, the building housing the WKO connection was given a striking design to draw attention to this sustainable technology.

One of the largest ATES installations in the Netherlands

The ATES system at the Healthy Ageing Campus uses eight wells (four for heat and four for cold), making it one of the largest in the Netherlands. The system pumps groundwater and stores heat in the summer and cold in the winter. Using a heat pump, this energy is then used to heat and cool buildings without relying on natural gas.

• Capacity:: Each well moves 250 m³ of water per hour; the four cold wells together process as much water as an Olympic-sized swimming pool per hour.

• Annual Flow: 1 million m³ of water (equivalent to 1,000 swimming pools).

• Savings: 1.2 million m³ of natural gas annually, comparable to the consumption of 1,000 households.

Expansion and future

The Anda Kerkhoven Centre (AKC) was the first to connect in September 2025. In mid-2027, the Bladergroen Building will follow, and over the coming years, a total of eleven buildings (both existing and new) will be connected to the system. With this, RUG and UMCG are gradually building toward a circular and climate-neutral campus for a more sustainable future.

Collaboration and innovation

The installation of the ATES system is a collaboration between Remborg Bodemenergie (drilling), Antea Group (piping), and CroonWolter&Dros (installation technology). The recently wrapped building not only highlights the technology but also the campus’s ambition: innovative, sustainable, and future-oriented. The design of the wrap was created by the UMCG’s design studio and produced by MarneVeenstra.