Advanced geothermal energy runs but EU underestimates potential
According to Ember, new-generation underground energy could cover almost half of the EU's electricity needs now met by fossil fuels
Key points
Faced with yet another energy crisis due to the blockage of fossil fuel supplies, which are once again proving to be unreliable, there is a growing need to develop alternative sources in order to alleviate dependence on hydrocarbon imports. Next-generation geothermal energy (Egs in English, or 'Enhanced Geothermal Energy') could help Europe free itself from its dependence, covering at a competitive cost almost half of Europe's electricity needs today from fossil fuels. This is revealed in a new report published by the independent think tank Ember, according to which 43 gigawatts of high-enthalpy geothermal capacity (the kind used to produce electricity) could be developed in the EU at a cost of less than €100/MWh and thus be comparable to fossil-fired plants, with a production potential of 301 terawatt-hours of electricity per year, or 42 per cent of the production from coal and gas recorded last year.
Even Washington believes it
Geothermal energy is a continuous renewable source, not intermittent, and can also contribute to thermal storage. Hence the global revival, on which even Chris Wright, the Trump administration's new energy secretary, who is generally opposed to renewables, has spoken out: in a speech in Washington in early March, Wright called for strong growth in geothermal, arguing that it 'could help drive artificial intelligence, manufacturing, manufacturing returns, and halt the rise in electricity prices'.
Investments +80% in one year
According to the International Energy Agency's latest report, funding for advanced geothermal power in 2025 has in fact reached almost $2.2 billion, an increase of 80% year-on-year and 280% compared to 2018. The growth is being driven by technological innovation, the entry of new financial players and an increasing demand for continuous and programmable electricity.
More refined technologies
In just a few years, the industry has refined its soil analysis and drilling technologies, as well as heat extraction technologies, opening up a range of new possibilities. This is partly due to the fossil industry's recent know-how in horizontal drilling and partly to the artificial intelligence used today to analyse geological data and optimise site searches.
The latest innovations have not only extended the depth of the drillings well beyond the current 2,000 metres - it is already possible to exploit resources at depths of 4-5,000 metres and the aim is to reach 7,000 metres - but they also manage to create the necessary permeability, thanks to the injection of pressurised fluids, which widen natural micro-fractures, opening channels where the thermovector fluid can circulate. New-generation geothermal energy does not even need to find high-temperature fluids in the subsoil in order to function - as happens in the traditional sites of Larderello and Monte Amiata, already exploited since the end of the 19th century - but injects them cold to collect the heat from the subsoil along horizontal perforations and then extract it with another pipeline, often through closed-circuit systems, where the fluids circulate without coming into contact with the rock.
