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
EGEC has published the seventh edition of its annual study evaluating the development of the geothermal sector in Europe. 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.
The European Geothermal Congress (EGC) 2019 has launched the call for abstracts. Interested stakeholders are invited to submit their abstracts for papers concerning all areas of geothermal energy use, from very shallow systems to deep drilling and high-enthalpy fields. Both the technological and the social-economic side will be covered.
On Thursday 7 June 2018, the event “Heating & Cooling in Europe – How can we decarbonise the sector by 2050 and fulfil the Paris Agreement?” took place in the framework of the European Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels.
For the energy transition to be successful, we need integration and a coherent mix in all energy sectors which cannot be accomplished without the versatile contribution of geothermal energy, EGEC states in a new declaration released in celebration of its 20 years anniversary.
The Geothermal Science and Technology group launches a call for application for two PhD candidate positions from the 1st of July 2018 or earlier, funded within a larger EU-Horizon 2020 project for a period of 3 years.
On Thursday 24th May, ENGIE Réseaux and the French Association for Renewables « le Syndicat des Energies Renouvelables » (SER), in cooperation with EGEC and the city of Villepinte, gathered to discuss the French objectives for geothermal energy in the framework of the “Programmation pluriannuelle de l’énergie géothermie (PPE)”, currently under discussion. The discussion also aimed to present the position of France in the geothermal market development, and its leadership in a number of technologies.
The H2020 Cheap-GSHP Project will be present at the Energy Lab, European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2018 – Don't miss the presentation by Mr. Luc Pockele, senior investigator in the Horizon 2020 “Cheap-GSHP” Project, at will make the presentation “Efficient and cost effective ground source heat exchangers and pumps”, dealing with the results achieved during the first 3 years of this project.
In March 2018, an international panel of reviewers evaluated the KIT Research Unit “Energy” on behalf of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. The topic of geothermal energy systems was rated with top grade.
ARPAT, the Regional Environmental Agency of Tuscany, has released its 2017 Annual Report on Enviromental Data (Annuario dei dati ambientali). EGEC, with the permission of the author(s), has translated and summarised it for its members.
Along with other heating industry and renewable energy associations, EGEC issues a press release underlining the need for a sound Primary Energy Factor when considering the energy efficiency of heating appliances.
