LAUSR

Abstract Ground heat exchangers (GHEs) are rapidly gaining acceptance as an innovative technology for using geothermal energy. In this study, an integrated approach was used to systematically detail a holistic picture of the evolutionary process of GHEs, based on an integrated approach combining a bibliometric analysis, literature review, and technology road mapping, along with several data visualization methods. The results showed that the development course of GHEs can be divided into four stages. By calculating the frequencies of author keywords in the different stages and performing a co-occurrence analysis with a data matrix, the evolution of research hotspots was investigated. In particular, an in-depth literature review of emerging topics (thermo-mechanical behavior, thermal imbalance, and economic feasibility) was conducted, aiming to identify current knowledge gaps. Moreover, the differences in article output performances among countries were intuitively depicted using a bubble diagram, and a cooperation network was presented based on a bibliometric analysis. Under the premise of discussing the policies and market sizes of five leading countries, a realistic roadmap was detailed for GHE development in China, vial unraveling the development trajectory based on a political–economic–social–technological–environmental–legal framework. To this end, a workshop was held, and a questionnaire was used to collect opinions from various professional backgrounds. The findings can help researchers grasp the current issues, and also provide advice for setting strategic planning for practitioners. This integrated approach can also be flexibly applied to other sustainable energy domains, contributing to the scientific foresight regarding future developments.