The European geothermal sector meets in Berlin to provide the answer to the energy crisis

The opening ceremony of the 2022 European Geothermal Congress (source: ThinkGeoEnergy)

More than 1200 participants are joining the European Geothermal Congress this week. The event, organized by the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC), in cooperation with the German Geothermal Association (Bundesverband Geothermie e. V.), brings together stakeholders from the entire geothermal community to discuss latest innovations, science, market development, and for networking with an exhibition and side events.

The geothermal sector will present its solutions to solve the current energy crisis. Geothermal energy offers a renewable and affordable source, for a local and secure energy supply to families and the industry.

Geothermal has been experiencing significant market growth all over Europe, notably in the heating sector. The city of Munich by itself has allocated 1 billion euros for future geothermal district heating development.

The welcome ceremony was moderated by the presidents of the two co-organizers of the congress: Miklos Antics from the EGEC and Helge-Uve Braun from the BVG. The German representative Mr. Jorg Wojahn, Head of Representation of the European Commission in Berlin, followed by Mr. Bernhard Herrmann, Member of the German Parliament, by Mr. Christian Maass from the Ministry for Economics and Climate Action Germany, and Mr. Ajit Menon, Vice President Geothermal of Baker Hughes, the main sponsor of the congress, gave the welcoming statements to the participants.

Mr. Jorg Wojahn, Head of Representation of the European Commission in Berlin mentioned today that ”through the RePowerEU plan, the commission has set out a broad set of measures to strengthen not only the response to high energy prices but also directly to reduce our dependency on Russian fossil fuels through supply diversification and also by accelerating the clean energy transition.”

Mr. Ajit Menon, Vice President Geothermal of Baker Hughes, pointed out ”to move at speed in addressing the growth of geothermal, partnerships and collaboration is required between the technology developers and service providers developers as well as the government, not to mention inter-government cooperation to implement solutions that span countries and not just companies”

The second part of the opening ceremony, from a local to European approach, began with a speech by Mrs Silke Karcher from the City of Berlin, followed by Mr. Olivier Racle, ENGIE Head of District Heating and Cooling, and Mr. Felix Koselleck, STRABAG AG Managing Director.

The third session included Mr. Piotr Dziadzio from the Poland State Secretary, Vice Minister in the State-Ministry of Climate and Environment, followed by Prof. Dr. Ingo Sass from GfZ and Prof. Dr. Rolf Bracke from Fraunhofer IEG who provided a national perspective. Finally, to conclude Mr. Paolo Bertuzzi, CEO of TURBODEN and Mr. John Redfern, President and CEO of Eavor shared their insights into develop geothermal.

”Geothermal energy is the answer to the energy challenges that Europe is facing today. Geothermal energy brings the security of supply, flexibility, and resilience to the energy system. We need to acknowledge that the energy transition needs planning to ensure a successful phasing out of fossil fuels and the affirmation of new business models driving further geothermal deployment. Only when industry, policymakers, science, and communities come together, we can develop the instruments for a more sustainable future. This is what the European Geothermal Congress wants to accomplish. Geothermal Energy: renewable-sustainable-proven-achievable-realistic!” mentioned Miklos Antics, EGEC President

Source: EGEC