Geothermal plans in Hillerød, Denmark to be put on hold
Hillerød, Denmark (source: FrDr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
14 Oct 2025
Evaluation of geothermal resources for district heating in Hillerød, Denmark indicates that it is not economically attractive, pausing efforts to pursue it further.
The local utility company of Hillerød, Denmark has announced that it has paused plans to explore and utilize a geothermal resource for district heating. This comes after about half a year of evaluating the conditions for establishing geothermal energy in the city, in partnership with Danish geothermal developer Innargi.
Earlier this year, Hillerød Forsyning entered into an agreement with Innargi to jointly investigate the possibility of geothermal district heating in the city. Since then, both parties have analyzed the prerequisites for phasing in geothermal energy in Hillerød, including subsurface conditions, price, location and interaction with other energy sources. However, the results of the evaluation indicate that the conditions for further geothermal development are not present right now.
“The analysis shows that geothermal energy cannot be made economically attractive in the energy mix we want in Hillerød. Therefore, we agree with Innargi to pause the current collaboration,” said Tue Tortzen, Chairman of the Board, Hillerød Forsyning.
“The underground looks promising, but the situation on the surface must also be suitable for geothermal energy. This means that geothermal energy must be compatible with the other energy sources that the district heating company has or is planning. Here we do not believe that we can currently make the cabal work,” added Asbjørn Haugstrup, Director of External Relations, Innargi.
Hillerød Forsyning indicates that it is building a catalogue of potential future energy sources and that this continues to be updated regularly. Geothermal could come into play again in case the conditions of the overall supply network change. For instance, the municipality of Hillerød could enter a heat supply cooperation with neighboring municipalities. The feasibility of geothermal district heating could then be re-evaluated should such circumstances arise.
For now, the utility is working on converting a gas-fired combined heat and power plant into a modern power plant utilizing an electric boiler. The company has also established a new business entity to promote work in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Moreover, the municipality has approved a project proposal for a 10-MW heat pump that utilizes residual heat from treated wastewater for use in district heating.
Source: Hillerød Forsyning
