Europe

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 16th May 2025

Energy services group SPIE has taken on the operational management of a geothermal power plant in Bavaria, Germany, believed to be the first of its kind worldwide.

The facility is thought to be the world’s first commercial geothermal power plant that uses deep geothermal rock, rather than thermal water, to generate district heating and electricity.

“This makes SPIE part of a major project in the renewable energy market segment,” the company noted in a statement.

The project, commissioned by Eavor Erdwärme Geretsried GmbH & Co KG, will supply the town of Geretsried in southern Germany and the surrounding region.

SPIE will advise the customer on the legally compliant marketing and commissioning of individual plant components and will subsequently assume responsibility for the technical operation and maintenance of the geothermal power plant’s above-ground systems.

This also includes maintenance of parts of the ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) system, which uses surplus heat to produce CO2-low electricity.

The intention is to ensure maximum plant availability and operational reliability with a 24/7 on-call service.

“To meet the complexity of this highly innovative plant, we offer our customer a flexible service model that adapts to changing needs throughout the entire contract term,” said Aaron Eißner, Sales Manager in the Efficient Facilities operational division at SPIE Germany Switzerland Austria.

The power generation process will start operations in the autumn, while district heating production is currently in the planning stage.

Once the district heating station has been completed, SPIE will also take over its operational management and ensure plant availability.

The Eavor-Loop is a geothermal power plant with a closed-loop system, comparable to a giant underground radiator.

Two drilling rigs bore vertically to a depth of 4,500 metres, where the wells are then deflected horizontally to create 12 parallel branches, each between 3,000 and 3,500 metres long.

Each loop thus comprises around 80 kilometres of borehole.

The fluid injected from above is naturally heated in the lower section of the system as it passes through the deep rock before rising to the surface without the need for additional pumps, thanks to the thermosiphon effect.

The heat is then extracted via a heat exchanger and can be used directly for district heating networks or electricity generation.

“Geothermal energy is a natural, stable and reliable source of renewable energy,” said Stefan Schusterschitz, General Manager of the Efficient Facilities operational division at SPIE Germany Switzerland Austria.

“With our technical expertise, we are helping to drive this innovation forward in Germany and to establish a key technology for the renewable energy mix of the future.”

The plant in Geretsried is already the third geothermal facility in Bavaria managed by SPIE, following those in Dürrnhaar and Kirchstockach.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 13 May, 2025

Veolia, Europe’s decarbonizing energy leader, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Star Energy to jointly develop large-scale geothermal heating solutions in the UK.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 22 April, 2025

Arverne Group will begin construction of the geothermal Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) demonstrator for its Alsatian project.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 14 April, 2025

Sicily continues to emerge as a strategic hub for geothermal energy, with a growing body of research highlighting the island’s vast untapped potential.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 10 April, 2025

The University of York has unveiled a pioneering geothermal energy project, supported by £35 million in funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 7 April 2025

France’s Arverne Group is anticipating big things this coming year, according to Pierre Brossollet, its founder and CEO.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 2 April, 2025

Non-for-profit organisation Project InnerSpace has launched a new effort to catalyse development of geothermal heating and power in the UK.

• Region: All
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 31 March, 2025

The International Geothermal Association (IGA) and the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) have signed a MoU to formalise their efforts in driving the global geothermal industry forward.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 31 March, 2025

Star Energy has signed an MoU with Bring Energy to explore the integration of geothermal energy into Southampton’s city centre.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 26 March 2025

Geothermal could transform the energy transition, yet many people still don't know much about it, meaning it’s time to rewrite the narrative, says one Swedish industry expert.

“We must reshape the narrative using storytelling and visuals to make geothermal appealing and simplify the message,” said Kristina Hagström Ilievska, chief marketing officer at Baseload Capital.

As a global investor, Baseload Capital has financed geothermal power plants across the globe, driving the industry's expansion. Its mission is to maintain a planet in balance by leading partnerships to scale up the geothermal industry. Ilievska is now on a mission to change the narrative around geothermal energy for the benefit of the whole renewable energy sector.

“Everyone is talking about quantum and AI, but no one is talking about the power needed to cool the data servers,” she said. “We are currently producing 8,000 gigawatts of electricity, and it needs to be tripled within five years. That means we have to find 16,000 gigawatts. She called it “a great opportunity” for the geothermal sector. “At least 10% of all electricity needs to be baseload,” she added.

“There is no crowd or competition in this race. There could be one hundred more companies working in geothermal, and we could all be successful.” The need for better communication within the geothermal sector spurred Ilievska to gather like-minded individuals and organisations in a bid to boost collaboration, resulting in a so-called Declaration of Communication. She said this presents the facts from half a decade of her work and explains why the industry needs a united voice and to follow clearer, actionable steps.

The aim is to have 1,000 geothermal ambassadors to sign the document, Ilievska said. She said it may be possible to learn from other industries in looking for a way forward, with geothermal facing similar branding challenges that solar once did. By studying how solar reshaped public perception — from expensive and impractical to affordable and essential — it may accelerate geothermal’s adoption, she noted. “They [the solar industry] made an exponential leap from being very expensive to being affordable. How can we do that for geothermal? There is a lot to learn; from their business models to how they used advocacy and lobbying to get their voices heard.”

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 24 March, 2025

Despite Europe being a high-temperature geothermal resource, the European Commission has failed to harness the full potential of this technology.

• Region: Europe
• Topics: Geothermal
• Date: 19 March, 2025

Cornish Lithium has been granted planning permission to build the UK’s first commercial lithium production facility in Cornwall.