18 March 2014: The 8th GeoTHERM conference brought together 191 exhibitors and over 3500 visitors from 38 countries, making it the largest geothermal energy trade fair in Europe. In addition to the industry expo, the congress included presented 30 lectures on national and international issues related to geothermal energy.

The congress, which was held from 21-22 February 2014, in Offenburg, Germany, focused on deep geothermal energy and shallow geothermal energy. Opening the sessions on deep geothermal energy, Victor van Heekeren, Chairman Platform Geothermie of the Netherlands, discussed his country’s experience in developing geothermal energy. Other talks covered the geothermal market in Europe and lessons on enhanced geothermal systems from projects around the world, as well as various technical issues, such as inspection systems, bedrock permeability, and heat exchanger design.

On shallow geothermal energy, discussions covered topics related to project planning, regulation, and best practice, in addition to sourcing heat pump systems, seasonal heat storage, and numerous other technical topics.

The event also featured the first European Geothermal Innovation Award, recognizing companies that made an outstanding contribution towards the field of geothermal energy in the form of innovative products, scientific research or project initiatives. The 2014 recipient was BESTEC, in recognition of its contribution to the development of enhanced geothermal system technologies. [GeoTHERM Press Release] [GeoTHERM Website] [GeoTHERM Conference Presentations] [European Geothermal Innovation Award]