Tuesday, 9 June 2026 | 14:00–17:30 | Calgary TELUS Convention Centre
The deepest geothermal wells in the world reach temperatures above 400°C, conditions so extreme that conventional drilling technology fails, materials behave unpredictably, and the fluid extracted is no longer water but supercritical steam. At those depths, a single well could theoretically deliver ten times the power of a conventional geothermal well. The science that would make this possible is advancing. The gap between laboratory knowledge and industrial deployment, however, remains wide.
Bridging that gap requires something specific: researchers and engineers in the same room, speaking honestly about what they know, what they don’t, and where the priorities lie.
On 9 June 2026, GEORG organises a dedicated workshop on superhot geothermal energy at the World Geothermal Congress in Calgary, bringing together leading scientists, industry operators, and international collaborators to do exactly that. The workshop is organised in collaboration with the European Plate Observing System (EPOS ON) and the Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT), and is open to all WGC participants.
EPOS ON is offering travel grants for early-career scientists who wish to attend the workshop. If you are a researcher working in geoscience, geothermal energy, or related fields and are not yet established in your career, we strongly encourage you to apply. Places are limited. Apply here: closed.
The 9 June workshop is one part of a longer process. GEORG is simultaneously developing a roadmap on superhot geothermal energy, a practical document intended to guide research priorities, investment decisions, and international collaboration over the coming decade. The conversations at WGC will directly inform that work. Participants are not just attending a session; they are contributing to a strategic document that will shape how the sector approaches this resource.The energy transition has expanded the ambition of geothermal development significantly. Countries that previously had no viable geothermal resources are reconsidering their subsurface potential as drilling technology improves and the cost of failure falls. Superhot geothermal sits at the outer edge of that expansion, technically demanding, economically compelling if it works, and in need of coordinated international research to reach the point where it can be deployed reliably.
Iceland, through GEORG and KMT, gets a unique position in that effort. The geology exists here; the operational experience exists here; and the institutions capable of translating field results into internationally transferable knowledge are here. The workshop at WGC 2026 is an expression of that responsibility.
Register
Workshop registration: https://forms.office.com/e/ebCnRY83eQ
Travel grant applications (early-career scientists): closed in May.
Full WGC programme: wgc2026.com/program
EPOS ON received a grant from Horizon Europe agreement no: 101131592
