Geothermal education hub opened in Rijswijk, Netherlands

Energy Cave, Rijswijk, Netherlands (source: Municipality of Rijswijk)

As part of an initiative to call for the energy transition of Netherlands, the “Energy Cave” central geothermal hub was opened in At the Park, Kessler Park, Rijswijk. This is a joint project of partners coming from the business, education, and public sectors as a place to collaborate on everything related to geothermal energy.

One of the primary objectives of putting up the Energy Cave is to address the shortage of technically trained personnel for geothermal projects. The Energy Cave offers opportunities to develop appropriate educational programs together with partners from the education sector. These include ROC Mondriaan, IWNL, Rijswijk Lyceum & Van Vredenburch College, Darl Edcuation, and the Energy Switch of TU Delft.

Industry, government, and research partners including Eneco, TNO, Municipality of The Hague, Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN), the International Geothermal Association (IGA), Shell, and Geothermie NL are also actively involved in developing these educational programs.

“This collaboration gives education the opportunity to introduce new skills and techniques into education, together with the business community and partners, and with this innovation to train the ‘future technician’ for the energy transition.” said Ruud van Diemen from ROC Mondriaan.

Philip Mulder of the Hague Business Agency also expressed enthusiasm about this collaboration. ““In due course we hope to bring foreign companies in the geothermal sector to the region and connect them to initiatives such as Energy Cave and RCSG with the ‘bore well research and test center’. Partners participate in the Energy Cave, because of the unique focus on geothermal energy as part of the energy transition.” said Mulder.

“This region holds all the cards to bind impact companies with innovations in the field of geothermal energy. The Energy Cave makes visible what is happening in terms of innovations in soil and subsoil. The great thing about the facility is that it is suitable for residents, companies and education.” described Martin Hulsebosch from the Municipality of The Hague.

The partners within this network are collectively called the “Coalition of the Willing.” Several weekly meetings are held in the Energy Cave with external parties such as Geothermie NL, Shell, TNO, and other regional administrative consultants. Those who are interested in collaborating to address the current challenges of geothermal energy and energy transition are encouraged to contact the Energy Cave at info@energycave.nl.

Source: RODI and Municipality of Rijswijk