The top 5 geothermal innovation projects of 2018

Brussels, 1^st February 2018 – EGEC is pleased to announce the five endorsed nominations for the European Geothermal Innovation Award 2018. The final candidates are (in alphabetical order):

• GDF Latin America (Germany), the first multi-donor climate initiative offering risk mitigation for surface studies and appraisal drillings during the exploration phase of geothermal projects in Latin America.
• GPC Instrumentation Process (France), for the design and implementation of the first sub-horizontal well in a geothermal project, a technique so far only used for oil drilling that allows to drain more hot water over a long length.
• Politecnico di Torino (Italy), for their system ENERTUN, that allows transforming a tunnel lining into a low enthalpy geothermal system.
• PORCIÓ Ltd. (Hungary), for the Gyopáros Production and Reinjection Geothermal System, in operation at Gyopáros Thermal SPA.
• RWTH Aachen University (Germany), for the development of their Temperature Sensor Module (TSM) for detecting groundwater flow velocity and direction near a borehole heat exchanger.

19 nominations were received from around Europe. These included submissions from a wide range of companies and research institutes, demonstrating the enthusiasm of the sector and the constant efforts towards innovation, increased efficiency, and reduction of costs.

“Every year we receive very interesting candidatures, but this year the list was particularly impressive,” said Philippe Dumas, EGEC Secretary General. “All nominations were of exceptional quality, setting the bar remarkably high and providing the jury with a difficult task. This is an important recognition both for the vitality of the geothermal industry and for the growth of the award. I would like to thank everyone who entered the competition.”

Because of a conflict of interest, two members of the jury, including EGEC President Ruggero Bertani, recused themselves before the beginning of the evaluation process to continue to ensure the transparency and independency of the jury.

The European Geothermal Innovation Award is an initiative from EGEC, the European Geothermal Energy Council, in collaboration with Messe Offenburg, organisers of the GeoTHERM fair and congress.

Designed as an opportunity for industry peers to acknowledge innovation, and for the most exciting ideas to be widely publicised, the European Geothermal Innovation Award is the seal of excellence applied to the most intelligent and important ideas in research and industry which will play a key role in the future development of geothermal energy. Nominations for the award are assessed on grounds of originality, innovation, reliability, reduction of emissions, and improvements in energy output.

The jury for 2018 is composed of Christian Boissavy (France), Adele Manzella (Italy), Sandra Kircher (Messe Offenburg, Germany), Bruno Leray (France), and Javier Urchueguia (Spain).

The Jury will now deliberate to select an overall winner which will be announced on 1^st March at the GeoTHERM expo & congress in Offenburg (Germany).

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