GRMF HEAT to kick off 2nd funding round for geothermal direct use in Africa

Announcement of 2nd round of applications for the GRMF HEAT programme for geothermal direct use (source: GRMF)

The Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility (GRMF) will be kicking off the second round of funding applications for geothermal direct use projects in Africa under the GRMF HEAT programme.  The kick-off will take place as part of the Kenya Geothermal Congress to be held from the 16th to 18th July 2024 at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi.

All contents of the kick-off will be available from the 17th of July 2024 at the GRMF website. Participation in the event is not a requirement for submitting an EOI.

GRMF HEAT was launched in 2022 as a funding programme for surface & feasibility studies specifically for geothermal direct-use. An option to provide financial support for drilling following a successful GRMF funded surface study phase is currently being developed. The first GRMF HEAT application round was concluded in February 2024. Five projects were awarded for funding. Due to the high level of interest in the programme, the African Union Commission (AUC) decided to start a second round right away.

Eligibility

The GRMF HEAT fund covers up to 80% of approved surface & feasibility study costs and up to 20% of approved infrastructure costs.

The eligible activities under the programme include:

• geophysical surveys and supplementary geological, hydrogeological and/or geochemical surveys;
• shallow temperature gradient wells provided they are drilled on non-permanent well pads;
• infrastructure costs related to surface exploration such as access roads and water supply;
• feasibility study regarding the exploitation of the resource and the available market for direct use applications;
• preparation of integrated resource report including a temperature gradient map and conceptual model of the resource, and identification of high-priority drilling sites.

Geothermal direct use combines several social & economic benefits, such as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, reduction of deforestation, savings on energy spending, improved food security and improved quality of life. This way it targets multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals at the same time.

The GRMF team is looking forward to numerous expressions of interest.

Source: Email correspondence