Geothermal Cities – How can the European Geothermal Action Plan unlock investments?

The first edition of the European Geothermal Summit was held in Brussels on 17 June 2025. This was a high-level policy conference hosted by EGEC in partnership with ETIP Geothermal and GEOTHERM FORA, with the support of the Ministry of Climate and Environment of the Republic of Poland.

This landmark event explored how the much-anticipated European Geothermal Action Plan can mobilise investment, foster innovation, and support cities in decarbonising their heating, cooling and power systems through the deployment and implementation of geothermal solutions.

Below you can find the links to all of the presentations.

🔹 Opening Session 

• • Welcome Speech – Miklos Antics, President of EGEC
  • Insights on Geothermal in the EU Council and in Poland – Krzysztof Galos, Undersecretary of State and Chief National Geologist, Republic of Poland
  • Insights from the EU Commission and from the EU Parliament, from Paula Rey Garcia (Head of Unit, Renewables and Energy System Integration, DG ENER, European Commission) and Davor Ivo Stier (MEP, Member of the ITRE Committee, European Parliament) respectively.

🔹 Session 1 | Geothermal Cities

• • Moderated by Sanjeev Kumar, Policy Director, EGEC
  • Mechelen’s Decarbonisation Story with Geothermal – Patrick Princen, Deputy Mayor, City of Mechelen
  • Decarbonising the Heating  and Cooling Sector at the Local Level – Nicolas Raimondi, Policy and Project Manager, Energy Cities
  • Geothermal for Cities: Unlocking Local Potential to Meet EU Climate Targets – Magdalena Sikrowska, Senior Energy Expert, Sustainable Energy Systems, ICLEI Europe
  • Role of EU finance to unlock geothermal heating – Morgan Henley, District Heating Campaigner, CEE Bankwatch 
  • Engagement with local stakeholders – key in developing geothermal district heating projects – Malte Nyenhuis, Head of EU Affairs, Innargi

🔹 Presentation of the Pan-European GeoEnergy Atlas and the Geological Service for Europe project – Annamária Nádor, GeoEnergy Expert Group, EuroGeoSurveys

🔹 Session 2 | Designing local geothermal heating, cooling and combined power systems

• • Moderated by Beata Kepinska, Polish Geothermal Society
  • Networked ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) – mature technology tailored to the cities – Richard Draper, Strategy Director, Kensa
  • Designing local geothermal heating, cooling and combined power systems – Robert Winsloe, Executive Vice President, Eavor Technologies Inc.
  • ORC and LHP Systems for Geothermal Power, Heating and CHP Systems – Joseph Bonafin, Director of next-generation geothermal projects, Turboden S.p.A.

🔹 Session 3 | Leveraging private capital and innovative business models

• • Moderated by Philippe Dumas, Secretary General, EGEC
  • Insights from the European Commission – Matthieu Balu, Policy Officer, DG ENER, EU Commission
  • Moving the needle: how to make geothermal projects successful – Kamila Piotrowska, Head of EU Policy & Advocacy, Baker Hughes
  • Geothermal for France: A Local, Reliable Solution for Industrial and Urban Heat – Pierre Brossollet, President and Director, Arverne Group

🔹 Conclusions

• • Philippe Dumas, Secretary General, EGEC
  • Luca Xodo, Chair of the Board, ETIP-Geothermal