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Hungarian PannErgy

Alexander Richter 22 Feb 2009

Hungarian PannErgy, formerly Pannoplast, is a Hungarian company working on geothermal development in the country. PannErgy works closely with Icelandic Mannvit on about 30 projects within Hungary both for heating and power generation through geothermal.

Just a note on Hungarian PannErgy, formerly Pannoplast an interesting company that is “focused on the development of the unique geothermal potentials of Hungary and the Carpathian Basin for heating and electricity generation purposes.”

The company works closely with Icelandic Mannvit, a geothermal engineering firm that works internationally on geothermal projects. Mannvit works as the main consultant on the company’s 30 geothermal fields in Hungary, which are being developed for district heating and power projects. PannErgy contracted almost 30 towns in Hungary and have discussion with several others for supplying the local district heating systems with the geothermal heat.

Both company work on geothermal development in three phases of geothermal power plant development: data collection and the potential areas proposed, preparative work for the power plant, and the plant’s design and technical preparations for planning, development and full-scale chief contracting except for the superstructure.

Based on Mannvit, Hungary holds the greatest potential for geothermal energy in Europe, with a geothermal gradient higher than the world’s average of 50 degrees Celsius/kilometer versus the world average of 30 degrees Celsius. The temperature of the rock found in Hungary, which lies on the Pannonian Basin, often exceeds 100 degrees Celsius at depths of 6,561 feet (2,000 m).

PannErgy will provide 20 percent of the total funding. The company will apply for 50 percent of the funding from the European Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The remaining 30 percent will come from general credit institutions.

Hungarian plastics packaging producer Pannunion Group just revealed financial results showing it slid deeper into debt during 2008. In September last year, PannErgy (Pannunion’s parent company), the Hungarian alternative energy group, formerly known as Pannonplast, raised €1.7m from the sale of Pannunion shares on the Budapest Stock Exchange in an initial public offering (IPO). The company blames losses on lower demand, the negative exchange effects of the strong ‘forint’ (the Hungarian currency) and increased raw material prices.

Source: PRW.com, Ad Hoc News, Energycurrent.com (2007)