Karlovac, Croatia contingent visits Iceland to learn from geothermal experience

The project team from GeotermiKA was hosted by ISOR for a study visit in Iceland to learn more about geothermal utilization (source: ISOR)

A project team from the city of Karlovac in Croatia recently held a 5-day study visit to Iceland to learn from the experience of Icelanders on how to utilize geothermal resources. The visiting group comes from GeotermiKA d.o.o., a  company founded by the city of Karlovac for the research and exploitation of geothermal resources in the city.

We had previously reported on the proposed geothermal project in Karlovac, Croatia back in 2021. At that point, GeotermiKA was described as being in the process of “developing business cooperation and researching opportunities for cooperation with various companies.”

The study trip to Iceland is part of the project “Using geothermal energy for heating purposes in the City of Karlovac – PREP4KaGT-1”. This is a project that is being co-financed by Iceland, Lichtenstein, and Norway through the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA) 2014-2021 with national co-financing of the Republic of Croatia within the “Energy and Climate Change” programme.

The project holder is GeotermiKA d.o.o. in partnership with the City of Karlovac and ÍSOR (Iceland GeoSurvey) from Iceland. The total value of the project is EUR 754,734.70, while the share of grants is EUR 504,268.45, and the project lasts from May 24, 2022 until 24 February, 2024.

Learning from Icelandic companies

The goal of the study visit is to acquire additional knowledge and experience, as well as to establish potential cooperation with companies from Iceland, which will further contribute to strengthening the capacity for management and promotion of renewable energy sources and create foundations for continued cooperation and future joint projects The study visit was hosted by ÍSOR, which organized several workshops and meetings for the visiting group.

Round table discussions were held where representatives of several different companies and institutions participated, including North Tech Energy (NTE), the Geothermal training program (GRO-GTP), Verkis Consulting, and the Iceland Renewable Energy Cluster (IREC). The group also visited companies involved geothermal district heating and geothermal power. Presentations and discussions were done with Reykjavík Energy, Veitur, and HS-Orka.

Source: ISOR