Hanover is committed to a green future: deep geothermal energy for 20,000 households!

Hanover is committed to a green future: deep geothermal energy for 20,000 households!

Something is happening in the area of ​​renewable energy in Hanover! On September 1, 2025, the innovative deep geothermal energy project was presented in Lahe, which includes two Eavor Loop™ systems, each with 15 megawatts of output. These systems function as large underground heat exchangers and have the potential to produce around 250 million kilowatt hours of heat annually. This is enough to supply around 20,000 households with environmentally friendly heat and could cover up to 20 percent of Hanover's district heating needs. This makes Hanover the first major city with a facility of this type, which represents a real milestone.

A central goal of the project is to make rural, climate-friendly geothermal energy usable in urban areas. The absence of fracking and the use of a water-based medium that circulates through kilometers of drilling make this technology particularly environmentally friendly. The heat is extracted from the surrounding rock via the thermosiphon effect. This is not only clever, but also a contribution to an emission-free energy mix for the city, which should support climate neutrality by 2035.

Geothermal energy as the key to the future

The European Commission sees geothermal energy as a promising solution in the fight against climate change. It supports this technology under the Horizon 2020 program to reduce costs and increase performance. The possibility of using geothermal energy both as an energy source and as a CO2 storage opens up new perspectives, especially in developing countries. Historically, financing for geothermal energy has been weak compared to other renewable energies such as wind and solar, but now the level is increasing significantly. An example of this is the impressive budget of 172 million euros for geothermal projects provided by the EU's Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA).

The Eavor Loop™ system in Hanover sets a vantage point for the future. Michael Kaszechki, an experienced project manager in geothermal energy, is involved in the design of this project. His expertise ranges from power plants to solar power plants to geothermal projects, and he has a good knack for innovative solutions in this area.

Next steps and events

The next steps in the project have already been firmly planned: On September 3, 2025, the project will be presented to the Bothfeld-Vahrenheide city district council. Shortly afterwards, on September 12th and 13th, 2025, the presentation will take place at Geothermal Energy Day at the State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology. Here, interest in geothermal technologies is further fueled and the public is invited to find out about the possibilities and progress.

Overall, the project in Hanover shows that geothermal energy does not remain just a theoretical concept, but offers tangible solutions to the challenges of climate change. With innovative approaches and the support of the European Commission, geothermal energy will certainly become an important component of the future energy supply in Europe.

You can find more information about the details of the project on the website Hannover.de, Eavor and CORDIS.