The concept

Concept

Empower society to participate in the development of geothermal projects using alternative financing schemes

Vision

Contribute to the EU’s 2030 Energy Strategy

Team

10 partners covering
21 countries

Concept

Our mission is to empower the European public to directly participate in the development of geothermal projects with the help of alternative financing schemes (crowdfunding) and social engagement tools.

Are you interested in geothermal?

CROWDTHERMAL is analysing the perception of geothermal energy and will develop a public engagement approach making extensive use of social media.

Would you like to participate in geothermal projects?

CROWDTHERMAL will formulate new financial models for crowdsourcing, promoting alternative financing of geothermal projects in close collaboration with existing structures & conventional players.

What are the risks related to geothermal projects?

CROWDTHERMAL will formulate recommendations for a novel risk mitigation scheme that will be complementing the alternative financing solutions while protecting the interests of private investors.

What can we do to support your project?

CROWDTHERMAL will prepare a decision tree algorithm with guidelines for the developers and promoters of geothermal energy.

One of the main objectives of the EU’s Green Deal is to become climate neutral by 2050.

The EU’s energy challenge for 2030 is to increase the use of renewable energy to 32%.

The EU aims at a safe and affordable energy supply and is therefore developing a diverse portfolio of local renewable energy sources.

In 2017, 17.5% of the EU’s total gross energy consumption came from renewable sources, of which only 3% corresponded to geothermal energy.

CROWDTHERMAL aims to initiate a new form of public dialogue that allows the direct participation of citizens.

By creating new financial services and communication strategies, CROWDTHERMAL will contribute to the increase of geothermal energy in the gross final consumption.

The synergetic achievement of these specific goals will help create a level playing field for geothermal energy development in Europe, whilst fully addressing the needs for public engagement and transparency concerning the management of environmental impacts.
A horizontal objective is to help transform the rather conservative image of this industry into a dynamic one that uses cutting-edge concepts in public engagement, and has the full wealth of contemporary financial services at its disposal in realising geothermal projects.

The European Commission has funded this concept, the CROWDTHERMAL project, under the Grant Agreement
number 857830 with € 2 305 801,25 EU contribution.

Our Vision

Empower citizens and local communities for local clean energy solutions, contributing to the European Green Deal

Innovative solution

Tapping into alternative finance for geothermal development, strengthening the European portfolio of economically feasible geothermal projects and demonstrating a stronger form of public engagement for the promotion of a geothermal energy.

Tool

CROWDTHERMAL core services will be designed from the very beginning with a purpose of sustainability, to be operated after the EC-funded period, helping geothermal projects tapping into alternative finance during the years to come.

Implementation

A broad social-media campaign will be deployed to connect with young people, who may themselves become financiers of geothermal projects during the 2025-2030 period, giving a final assist to achieving the 2030 targets.

The team

Crowdthermal partners

The strength of our consortium

The European Federation of Geologists (EFG)brings to the project decades of scientific knowledge, data, understanding of international and EU agendas and their extensive membership network for dissemination and knowledge sharing, involving 17 Linked Third Parties listed here below.

Institute for Future Energy Systems (IZES, Germany) has 15 years of experience with applied research on the psychology behind the development and acceleration of the market uptake of renewable energies.

University of Glasgow (UOG, UK) contributes with its unique academic knowledge not just on geothermal energy but also on a wide range of related technological and environmental areas.

Vulcan Energy Subsurface Solutions GmbH (VES, Germany) covers the entire geothermal project development span, ranging from financing & planning to supervision of drilling work, plant operation & the planning of risk insurance schemes.

La Palma Research Centre (LPRC, Spain) is an expert in the development of awareness raising tools and Social Media marketing platforms for geoscientific projects.

CrowdfundingHub (CFH, Netherland) is specialised in alternative finance with expertise on crowdfunding and other forms of alternative finance, such as community finance, credit unions, civic crowdfunding and other community-driven financing, governance and business models.

The District Heating Company of Szeged (SZDH, Hungary) supplies heat and domestic hot water to 27,000 apartments and 500 public buildings (schools, kindergartens, hospitals) in Szeged.

The Spanish Geothermal Technology Platform (GEOPLAT, Spain) is a scientific-technical sectorial coordination group of 210 institutions that cover all relevant stakeholders in geothermal energy in Spain.

The Geothermal Research Cluster (GEORG, Iceland) is a non-profit research driven geothermal cluster of 23 members, combining all major players in geothermal research and utilization in Iceland and their key international collaborators.

EIMUR is a public-private partnership in the field of energy, increased utilisation of geothermal resources and innovation in Northeast Iceland.

Advisory Board members

Ryan Law

Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL)

Geothermal
Financial

Marit Brommer

International Geothermal Association

Geothermal
Social

Adele Manzella

IGG CNR

Geothermal
Social

Gregor Götzl

Geological Survey of Austria

Geothermal

Susana Batel

Instituto Universitário de Lisboa

Social

Matthias Toennis

Munich Re (Group)

Financial

Geraint Ellis

Queen’s University Belfast

Social

János Szanyi

University of Szeged

Geothermal

Nienke Rijpstra

StartGreen Capital

Financial

Philippe Dumas

EGEC Secretary General

Geothermal
Financial
‘This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement nº 857830.’
© Copyright: CROWDTHERMAL project consortium