ENGIE and HITA partner on geothermal development in Belgium
Grote Markt of Antwerp, Belgium (source: flickr/ carlbcampbell, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
18 May 2021
Engie and HITA join forces to develop up to ten geothermal heating projects in Belgium.
Belgium geothermal developer HITA announcers that it has signed a cooperation agreement with ENGIE and HITA for the development of deep geothermal projects in Antwerp and Limburg in Belgium.
The joint ambition is to operate ten geothermal installations by 2030, good for a total production of around 600 GWh of green heat per year. This energy production will be used to provide buildings and business processes in the area with sustainable heat and thus also contribute to the energy transition, which both HITA and ENGIE want to accelerate. We previously reported about HITA and Engie’s planned geothermal work both in the Netherlands, in France and the UK.
In deep geothermal energy, geothermal heat is brought above ground from a depth of 2 to 4 kilometers and distributed via a local heat network to surrounding industrial, tertiary and residential buildings. Geothermal energy is the natural heat in the subsurface that has been present for millions of years and will remain permanently available in the future.
More than 200 geothermal plants are currently active in Europe, including in neighboring countries. Paris and Munich, for example, have been making intensive use of this renewable energy source to heat their buildings for decades. HITA and ENGIE strongly believe in the potential of deep geothermal energy in Flanders and want to work together to develop ten geothermal installations in the provinces of Antwerp and Limburg. The locations of the power stations are determined on the basis of the presence of suitable water reservoirs in the subsurface on the one hand and the proximity of heat demand above ground on the other. Each installation would produce an average of 60 GWh per year of sustainable heat, enough to heat about 15,000 new-build apartments via local heat networks.
HITA, a young and ambitious company that focuses on sustainable energy from home soil, has found a strong partner in ENGIE for geothermal projects. In the Netherlands, ENGIE is already working on various deep geothermal heat projects for the built environment, more specifically in the cities of Utrecht, The Hague and Haarlem. ENGIE also has projects running in France in Lyon and Paris. In Belgium, ENGIE Solutions, the services division of ENGIE, was involved in the construction of the first deep geothermal power plant in Mol and is also responsible for maintenance and management. ENGIE also has many years of experience in the design, development and installation of district heating networks at home and abroad.
Vic Swerts, Chairman of the Board of Directors of HITA: “From the very beginning I was interested in the potential of deep geothermal energy. Drilling kilometers deep into the Kempen soil and then pumping up hot water as an energy source appeals to the imagination. Now we have to take the next step by investing heavily in this renewable energy source. In ENGIE we have found the ideal party to realize our ambitions in practice. Local entrepreneurship hand in hand with an experienced player in the energy market! ”
Geert De Meyer, CEO of HITA: “In ENGIE we have found a party that is experienced, has sufficient clout and whose expertise is complementary to ours, with respect for HITA’s ambitions, individuality and entrepreneurship. We strongly believe in this collaboration, in which we can join forces and resolutely move towards 100% sustainable energy systems, including deep geothermal energy. ”
Source: HITA
