The Italy-Kenya Business and Investment Forum on Geothermal took place on March 27, 2023, with the aim to boost collaboration between Italian and Kenyan businesses in the geothermal energy sector. The forum was organized by the Italian Investment and Technology Promotion Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, with collaboration from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum of Kenya, the Geothermal Association of Kenya (GAK) and Unione Geotermica Italiana (UGI). The event brought together key players from the Italian and Kenyan geothermal industries, and the participants engaged in discussions on investment opportunities and strategies, with a focus on advancing geothermal energy development in Kenya. Italian companies that have expertise in drilling, power plant construction, and project financing, are projected to help the Kenyan labour force.

Eavor’s technology and potential in Japan have been gaining momentum in capturing the attention of Japanese newspapers and media outlets. Recently, an article from Japanese online publication Energy Frontline interviewed Representative of Eavor Japan James Heatherington, and discussed the viability of Eavor’s technology in a country that has “high potential for geothermal power generation and high expectations for development using this technology.” Additionally, major Japanese newspaper Chunichi Shimbun features both the EUIF investment into Eavor’s Geretsried project and Chubu Electric Power Co. major investment in Eavor Technologies. The article comments: “The geothermal startup company that Chubu Electric Power has invested in has been granted 91.6 million Euro from the EUIF for its first commercial project in Germany, for which Chubu Electric Power has acknowledged the importance of. Electric production is expected to start in the latter half of 2024. This is a new type of renewable energy with high expectations.”

Energy CFO, business controller, and board advisor Paula Waggoner-Aguilar published a feature article demonstrating that in the last decade, there has been an increase of women pursuing careers in the energy sector. Data has shown that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of women finding jobs at energy companies is increasing, especially in renewables. Women working in affiliation with renewable energy make up 32 percent of positions globally. Of this percentage, 45 percent work in administration jobs over STEM related roles. In comparison, women represented 19 percent of the oil and gas workforce in 2021, which is a four percent improvement since its last study in 2018. In 2022, the Center for American Progress found that women represented 25 percent of the total energy workforce, an approximately 17.2 percent increase from PWC’s findings a little over a decade before.

The Dutch geothermal sector is to receive a grant of 2 billion Euros, which will be made available for at least 18 new geothermal projects in the near future. Currently, the total number of realized and well-advanced geothermal energy projects in the Netherlands is 50. These projects are estimated to provide direct heating to roughly 7 percent of Dutch households, and that number is projected to rise to 25 percent in the coming years. Hans Bolscher, chairman of Geothermie Nederland commented: “You cannot heat the whole of the Netherlands sustainably with electricity. Fortunately, we are now seeing a clear change when it comes to attention for large-scale sustainable heat production.”

Researchers at the Schulich School of Engineering recently received funding that will support investigative work into optimizing geothermal energy systems. The funds will support a four-year $3 million project conducted by the Energi Simulation Centre for Geothermal Systems Research, where Dr. Apostolos Kantzas serves as the associate director and Dr. Roman Shor serves as the Energi Simulation Industrial Research Chair in Geothermal Systems. This funding comes from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Mitacs, in collaboration with Ashaw Energy, ConocoPhillips, KALiNA Distributed Power, Suncor, Telsec and Terrador Energy, and in partnership with the Alberta Energy Regulator, Alberta Geological Survey, and the Geological Survey of Canada.

Technological trail-blazer Industrie 4.0 has featured Eavor in an online article, highlighting many advantages Eavor has in the renewable energy sector and how Advanced Geothermal Systems (AGS) can expedite Austria’s energy self-sufficiency goals. Unlike traditional geothermal and Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), AGS does not rely on access to natural or man-made underground aquifers; therefore, it bypasses the need for in depth exploration or fracking. Using conduction-based technology, Eavor-Loops™ are versatile and scalable because they harvests energy from hot rock rather than aquifers. Geothermal energy and AGS were recently subjects in the “Sustainability Insights” panel, where Industrie 4.0 talked to Executive Vice President Europe Operations Daniel Mölk, discussing his insights on the development and costs of geothermal systems and its future potential for ​​district heating.