European Geothermal Congress 2025 opens in Zürich, Switzerland
Opening session of the European Geothermal Congress 2025 in Zurich/ Switzerland (source: ThinkGeoEnergy)
Alexander Richter
8 Oct 2025
EGC 2025 opened in Zürich with 1,100+ participants and a growing Swiss geothermal sector, setting a confident tone for Europe’s energy transition.
I always forget how hard it is to “cover” a congress you’re also living in. Day one of EGC 2025 was a blur of hallway catch-ups, quick coffees, and trying to split myself between panels. It started with an opening ceremony that set an upbeat tone, with 1,200+ participants expected across the week and strong Swiss pride in the spotlight from Geothermie-Suisse and the local ecosystem.
The welcome featured Miklos Antics, President of EGEC, and Barbara Schwickert, President of Geothermie-Suisse, who framed geothermal’s role in the European and Swiss energy transition. The line-up underscored political attention at multiple levels and why this week matters for the sector.
What stood out on day one
Swiss momentum on display. From Geneva’s GEothermies program to fresh headlines around Haute-Sorne, Switzerland used the stage to show intent and progress. Geneva’s program continues to mature as a portfolio approach to deep and shallow geothermal for the canton. Haute-Sorne’s recent technical results support continuing the project and scoping follow-on sites in the 10-30 MW range.
Breadth of topics. Sessions ranged across innovation, international collaboration, thermal storage, heating and cooling, emerging technologies, financing, mineral extraction, EGS, heat pumps, resource potential, and environmental safeguards.
Candid hallway themes. Three threads kept popping up in conversations: calibrating expectations around new tech claims, winning and maintaining political support, and getting potential heat customers into the room at events like this. The investment mood is cautiously optimistic, but still fragile, including among oil and gas players exploring the space.
Why it matters: The opening day felt like a sector crossing a visibility threshold. Policymakers are paying attention, and Switzerland is leaning into geothermal’s role in the heat transition – but delivery still hinges on steady permitting, bankable finance, and communicating geothermal’s concrete benefits to cities and industries that need reliable low-carbon heat.
Notes from the floor
Program depth: The official program spreads across five days with parallel technical and market tracks, plus excursions hosted by Geothermie-Suisse on Friday.
Swiss case references: Beyond the congress center, Geneva’s evolving district-scale plans and new project signals like Haute-Sorne gave attendees current, local case studies to point to during discussions.
End of day snapshot: The gala dinner capped a packed first day ´ a logistical feat serving more than a thousand people at tables, and a fitting close to a program that mixed research, policy, and very practical “how-to” heat transition conversations.
Carlo (our editor) and I are back on the floor for day two and will share more session takeaways and project notes as the week progresses.
