Consortium on superhot geothermal holds kickoff meeting in Larderello, Italy
Kick-off meeting of SHiFT consortium in Larderello, Italy (source: Enel)
Carlo Cariaga
27 May 2026
The SHiFT consortium held its kick-off meeting in Larderello, Italy, signaling the start of coordinated work to develop technologies for superhot geothermal.
The technical kick-off meeting of the SuperHot geothermal – Integrated demonstration and Flow Testing (SHiFT) consortium was recently held in Larderello, Italy, marking a further step in the development of ultra-high-temperature geothermal energy.
The SHiFT project will integrate advanced drilling technologies, well completion and temperature measurement, production trials, and surface energy conversion to advance the use of super-hot systems to near-commercial level through a first-of-its-kind demonstration in Iceland. The program, led by Reykjavik Energy (Orkuveitan), involves 17 European partners and is funded by the Horizon Europe program with EUR 10 million out of a total investment of EUR 28 million.
The event was opened by Marco Consumi, Head of Innovation Hydro, Thermal, and Geothermal Generation at Enel, with greetings from Luca Rossini, Head of Geothermal O&M, and Ann-Christin Gerlach , Head of Innovation at Enel Green Power. Enel had already played a leading role in the DESCRAMBLE project and had contributed key progress to the development of technologies for superhot geothermal. Through DESCRAMBLE, Enel had reached temperatures of up to 515°C, among the highest recorded worldwide in hydrothermal systems, and helping to open up innovative research and development horizons for materials and drilling activities in extreme conditions.
The first well (IDDP-3), the next phase of the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP), is scheduled for drilling in Nesjavellir by the end of 2026. This project also recently received the largest funding ever awarded by the Icelandic Climate and Energy Fund, amounting to approximately EUR 2 million, and will be carried out by Iceland Drilling Company. A second research well will be drilled in late 2027, with the aim of studying deep reinjection into the systems.
SHiFT partners include Reykjavik Energy, ON Power, COWI, Verkís, KMT, Reykjavik University, ÍSOR, GEROSION, Fraunhofer (Germany), GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (Germany), the National Research Council (Italy), Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Germany), Geolorn Ltd (UK), Enel Green Power SpA (Italy), Technovative Solutions Ltd (UK), Imerys Aluminates (France), and the University of Glasgow (Scotland).
Source: Email correspondence
