Following on from the European Union’s commitments to phase out energy imports from Russia, make energy affordable, boost industrial competitiveness, improve energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) insists that the European Commission must present an investment-orientated strategy and action plan to accelerate the deployment of all geothermal energy solutions. EGEC calls on the European Commission to publish a dedicated European Geothermal Strategy and Action Plan in the first quarter of 2026. This echoes requests made by EU Energy Ministers (see the TTE Council Conclusions of 16 December 2024) and also by the European Parliament (Resolution on geothermal energy, adopted on 18 January 2024). Indeed, the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jørgensen, has already confirmed (on 14 March 2025) that the Commission will present "an action plan on geothermal energy" before the end of March 2026. According to EGEC, the Commission’s proposal must include the following elements: An EU-wide target to reach 250 GW of geothermal capacity by 2040 covering all technologies. This will build on the 44 GW of installed capacity in the EU. A European Geothermal Charter, which codifies the 2040 target and launches the Geothermal Industrial Alliance to manage its delivery. Targeted European financial instruments to leverage private capital. Measures to make permitting processes more efficient and faster, as well as improving access to geological data. Sectoral or tripartite agreements with key energy consumers. Peer-to-peer guidance to help governments develop national and regional roadmaps to remove barriers, accelerate investments and build local supply chains. European instruments to support value chain development in local manufacturing and skilled professionals. The inclusion of geothermal energy as a central pillar of the EU’s Global Gateway and the Global Energy Transition Forum. Improvements to the collection and presentation of market data and statistics to enable better energy modelling. EGEC’s proposals are set out in a new policy document:The European Geothermal Strategy and Action Plan - Making Europe competitive, secure and affordable Watch EGEC's webinar on the launch of its recommendations for the EU Geothermal Strategy and Action Plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxUUaWHfuM8
Shallow geothermal energy represents a well-developed, non-volatile and clean technology for providing efficient heating and cooling across Europe. It is often associated with the use of ground source heat pumps but offers a wide range of applications such as geo-cooling or seasonal heat storage.
EGEC is the voice of the geothermal sector in Europe. It’s an international industry association with more than 120 members, representing 500 stakeholders from 22 different European countries. Geothermal is an essential renewable energy solution which helps tackle the climate crisis by providing safe, secure and reliable heat, cooling and electricity services.
— WEBINAR —
GEOTHERMAL RISK ASSESSMENT AND DE-RISKING TOOLS
Thursday 26/09/2019 | 11:00 – 12:00 CET
The market for geothermal energy in Europe has enjoyed significant growth for the past 5 years. Today, there are nearly 300 geothermal district heating systems in operation in Europe, with a total installed capacity of about 5 GWth. Total installed power capacity is now more than 3 GWe.
The power sector has doubled its capacity in 6 years. Meanwhile, the shallow geothermal sector is displaying continuous growth, approaching the threshold of 2 million units installed..
Rome, 4-7-2019. A meeting has taken place at the Ministry of Economic Development between Undersecretary Davide Crippa and a delegation of 6 representatives of companies in the energy sector. The meeting was arranged by EUREC, the Association of European Renewable Energy Research Centres.
The Hague, 13 June 2019 – The new board of the European Geothermal Energy Council was elected at the European Geothermal Congress yesterday. The new board is comprised of:
President: Miklos Antics (GPC IP)
Vice President: Marco Baresi (Turboden)
Vice president: Javier Urchueguia (Universidad Politécnica de Valencia)
Board Member: Sara Montomoli (ENEL Green Power)
Board Member: Robert Gavriliuc (Romanian Geoexchange Society)
Board Member: Rüdiger Grimm (Geoenergie Konzept GMBH)
Treasurer: Attila Kujbus (Geothermal Express)
The new president highlighted the importance of supporting geothermal as Europe transitions towards a greater penetration of renewables for both electricity, and heating and cooling.
The Hague, 11 June 2019 – The geothermal community meets in The Hague for the European Geothermal Congress 2019, to celebrate European excellency and to call for tailored tools to drive further geothermal deployment.
More than 800 participants are joining the European Geothermal Congress this week. The event, organised by the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC), in cooperation with Stichting Platform Geothermie, BodemenergieNL, and the main event sponsor Energie Beheer Nederland B.V. (EBN), brings together stakeholders from the entire geothermal community for sessions covering science, innovation and markets, an exhibition, courses, and side events.
The EGEC Geothermal Market Report confirms the trend towards the steady growth observed in recent years, but also notes the need for greater recognition in order to enable the full deployment of geothermal energy in Europe.
Brussels, May 2019 - The Clean Energy Package sets a renewable energy target of at least 32% by 2030. For investors, this target is the minimum to keep momentum going in the fast-growing sector that is the renewable energy industry. Meeting this target is necessary for Europe to reap the economic benefits resulting from a clean and efficient energy system by 2050. This will strengthen European competitiveness at the global level boosting domestic jobs and growth.
EGEC is currently looking for a Head of Policy & Regulation, to join its team in Brussels, to start before September 2019.
Reykjavik, May 3, 2019
The GEOTHERMICA Consortium announced today the launch of an additional joint call on June 3 with a deadline for pre-proposals on September 13, 2019. The Second Call will build on the success of the previous one and incorporate valuable lessons learnt during the last four years. Moreover, the GEOTHERMICA Consortium will be broadening for the Second Call, with Norway and USA joining, giving GEOTHERMICA now the weight to influence and accelerate the development of geothermal energy globally.
GEOTHERMICA’s second call objective is to accelerate the development of geothermal energy globally, by combining the financial resources and know-how of its respective partners, as well as expanding the utilisation of clean and renewable low carbon geothermal energy beyond its traditional markets and regions. In addition, GEOTHERMICA seeks to explore optimization of geothermal direct use and power generation, including innovative integrated and combined systems.
In the previous call, GEOTHERMICA financed, with the support of the European Commission, eight large Inter-European projects, allocating close to €30 million to innovation and technology development projects. The available budget for the Second Call will be confirmed with the publication of the call text but indicative commitments are close to €20 million in total.
GEOTHERMICA Second Call Timeline:
• 2 MAY 2019 Pre-announcement of Second Call
• 3 JUNE 2019 Call text published
• 13 SEPTEMBER 2019 Deadline for project pre-proposals submission
• 11 NOVEMBER 2019 Notification to projects that passed
• 31 JANUARY 2020 Call for full proposal closes
• 1 JUNE 2020 Tentative date for funding recommendation and announcement of results to Main Applicants
• 1 SEPTEMBER 2020 Tentative date for national funding decisions and contracts completed. Start of projects
*Rules and conditions apply. Project proposals must meet both national/regional requirements as well as GEOTHERMICA rules. Please consult your respective national authority for guidelines.
