GEORG team headed to Berlin last week in full squad to attend the European Geothermal Congress 2022. An eventful week with a large number of activities at different fronts of the Cluster’s ongoing projects and involvements.
CINEA Geothermal Clustering Meeting
GEORG Cluster started the week with an invitation to the annual CINEA Geothermal Clustering Meeting which took place on Monday 17 Oct. at the Berlin Congress Centre, prior to the European Geothermal Congress kick-off. Several GEORG projects were introduced including Geothermica, Geothermal Emission Control (GECO), Crowdthermal, and the newly funded project GeothermFora, along with other exciting geothermal endeavours around Europe.
The meeting provided the opportunity to showcase the H2020 geothermal portfolio contribution to the Clean Energy Transition and to the SET Plan. A constructive exchange took place about the future of EU geothermal funding programmes where CINEA and EU Policy officers gathered inputs and feedback from the different projects’ representatives regarding the best collaboration pathways and unified dissemination strategies.
KMT Meeting at the Icelandic Embassy
With the collaboration of the Icelandic Embassy in Germany, GEORG organized in the afternoon of the same day a roundtable to discuss potential cooperation with national geoscientific institutions in the Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) project. The event was attended by the KMT team, representatives from leading geoscience research institutions in the country such as GFZ, Fraunhofer IEG, ICDP, LMU Munich, KIT, and governmental representatives from both Iceland and Germany.
A unanimous interest and support were expressed by the German counterparts for the project with hopes to expand international cooperation at all levels. The KMT received previously the official support of the Icelandic government, and of the International Continental Drilling Programme (ICDP). 
European Geothermal Research and Innovation Exhibition Booth
A central activity during the EGC 2022 was organizing the European Geothermal Research and Innovation Exhibition Booth, which took place throughout the conference at the C15 stand.
After a successful joint initiative with CINEA last year during the World Geothermal Congress, GEORG Cluster hosted this year’s edition with the endorsement of CINEA and invited several EU-funded projects to take part in this initiative.
The Booth showcased the high level of cooperation in geothermal energy in Europe. The booth aims to strengthen further the cooperation and knowledge transfer between the different consortia in order to accelerate geothermal energy development in the continent and beyond.
Learn more about the EU Booth Initiative: www.EUbooth.com
Learn more about CINEA through this GEORG interview with Project Officer, Filipa Matias: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4UdvV2GrsQ
Presentation of Projects Results
Results from several projects were presented as part of the EGC programme, particularly Crowdthermal and Geothermica presented respectively by Dr. Amel Barich and Alicja W. Stokɫosa.
Joint First District Heating & Cooling (DHC) Day Event and Final Crowdthermal Conference
In parallel to the EGC, GEORG was heavily involved in a series of activities related to the Crowdthermal project. As the project is approaching its final months within the Horizon 2020 funding programme, the consortium held its 3rd general assembly on 19 October in IZES’ Berlin Office. Discussion revolved around the overall results of the project, and its sustainability plan. The consortium is formalizing the continuum of its activities under the umbrella of an alliance bringing together several partners and a commitment to provide value to the geothermal sector via social and financial expertise.
On 20 October, a joint event between the First District Heating & Cooling Day and the Final Crowdthermal Conference took place under the theme “Bringing Geothermal heating and cooling networks closer to the people”.
Crowdthermal consortium group picture. Photo credit: EFG
A timely and relevant event where Crowdthermal results were shared with DHC experts and enthusiasts. Dr. Amel Barich was invited speaker in the morning session and presented the Social License to Operate (SLO) model, a work GEORG has been leading during the lifetime of the project. Insightful exchanges took place, highlighting a high need for further geothermal socioeconomic case studies and unified frameworks on social acceptance and financial solutions in the dawn of the #GeothermalDecade.
Dr Amel Barich presenting the geothermal SLO at the DHC conference. Photo credit: Jay Egg
Reception at the Icelandic Embassy in Berlin
To finish the week on a high note, a reception at the Icelandic Ambassador’s residence in Berlin took place, where geothermal research and industry key actors from both Germany and Iceland were brought together to explore business and know-how exchange opportunities. The event was organized by Green by Iceland.
Reception at the Icelandic Ambassador’s Residence in Berlin. Photo credit: Marie Stagatt
With a record-breaking attendance, this year’s EGC reflected an unprecedented commitment from the geothermal community and decision-makers in the continent to push forward the deployment of geothermal energy. The future of geothermal is bright, and we are thrilled at GEORG to contribute to it through our mission of creating opportunities and bridging the gap between key sectors in this field.
(Uncredited) Photos by Tomasz Urban – GEORG
