Strengthening Europe’s Geothermal Research and Innovation Landscape
Over its 36-month duration, GEOTHERM-FORA played a central role in supporting two key European geothermal fora: ETIP-Geothermal and the Geothermal Implementation Working Group (IWG). Acting as the Secretariat for the Geothermal IWG, GEORG contributed directly to shaping strategic research priorities, improving coordination between Member States, and strengthening the link between policy, research, and industry.
Through GEOTHERM-FORA, GEORG significantly expanded its role as a European catalyst for geothermal collaboration. Key achievements include:
- Supporting the revision and implementation of the Geothermal IWG Implementation Plan, aligned with EU climate and energy targets.
- Strengthening international cooperation by engaging new Member States and stakeholders across Europe.
- Advancing knowledge-sharing through high-level workshops, roundtables, and symposia, including dedicated events on Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES).
- Contributing to strategic documents such as the Geothermal Vision, Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), and European Geothermal Industrial Strategy.
- Supporting data-driven monitoring of geothermal R&I progress through surveys, KPIs, and the Geothermal Panorama analysis.
- Promoting long-term access to geothermal knowledge via tools such as EGRISE 2.0, ensuring continued visibility of European geothermal research outputs beyond the project lifetime.
These activities reinforced GEORG’s position as a trusted coordination hub connecting research organisations, industry, policymakers, and funding instruments at both national and European levels.
While GEOTHERM-FORA has formally concluded, its outcomes will continue to shape GEORG’s future work. We, at GEORG, will:
- Maintain and strengthen its role within European geothermal networks and partnerships.
- Build on the strategic insights and policy alignment developed through the Geothermal IWG and ETIP-Geothermal.
- Support future project development, consortium building, and international collaboration in geothermal heating, cooling, power, storage, and co-production.
- Continue promoting knowledge exchange, capacity building, and stakeholder engagement to accelerate geothermal deployment across Europe.
GEOTHERM-FORA has laid a strong foundation for coordinated geothermal innovation. GEORG remains committed to carrying this momentum forward—supporting a resilient, scalable, and sustainable geothermal future for Europe.
GEOTHERM – FORA has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement nº 101075400. The content of this publication reflects only the authors’ views, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
