Kick off meeting of Danube GeoHeCo project

The project partners of eight Danube Region countries participated at the kick off meeting of Danube GeoHeCo project 

On March 26-27, 2024, project partners met in Čakovec, Croatia, for the kick-off meeting of the "Fostering the implementation of shallow geothermal hybrid heating and cooling systems in the Danube Region - Danube GeoHeCo" project. Hosted by the Lead partner Medjimurje Energy Agency Ltd., the meeting served as a platform for collaboration among the 13 partners representing eight countries in the Danube region.

Regional Development Agency Bačka has been entrusted with the role of the Communication lead, with the task of promoting and disseminating project results.

The gathering facilitated introductions, knowledge exchange, and discussions surrounding utilisation of geothermal energy and application of heating and cooling systems. Additionally, the meeting outlined the project's activities and implementation steps.

Mr Horst Schindler, representing the Interreg Danube Region Programme Joint Secretariat, underscored the importance of effective collaboration among partners and the visibility of project outcomes.

With a planned duration of 30 months starting in January 2024, the project emphasizes collaboration across partner countries, institutions, and pilot locations. Key stakeholders, including government decision-makers, representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises, contractors, non-governmental organisations, and the general public, are integral to the project's success. Interactive workshops during the meeting focused on initial activities within defined Danube GeoHeCo specific objectives.

The partnership comprises Medjimurje Energy Agency Ltd. (Croatia), CROST Regional Development Nonprofit Ltd. (Hungary), University of Zagreb, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering (Croatia), Research Burgenland Ltd. (Austria), Local Energy Agency Pomurje (Slovenia), Geological Survey of Slovenia (Slovenia), InnoGeo Research and Service Ltd. (Hungary), Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information (Slovakia), Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Faculty of Engineering in Kragujevac (Serbia), Regional Economic Development Agency for Šumadija and Pomoravlje (Serbia), Regional Development Agency Bačka Ltd. Novi Sad (Serbia) and LIR Evolution (Bosnia & Herzegovina). Additionally, 15 associated strategic partners representing local, regional, and national authorities, higher education institutions and associations are contributing their expertise to the project. The involvement of associated strategic partners is also valuable to the project as they will further integrate their knowledge and experience into its outcomes, further enhancing its impact in the focus area.

The Danube GeoHeCo project is financed under the Interreg Danube Region Programme 2021-2027. The main objective of the project is to increase the penetration of shallow geothermal energy in the Danube Region through initiating a robust transnational cooperation of promotion and support actions. The purpose of the proposed activities is to achieve ambitious EU energy and climate targets by 2030 and consequently 2050. The project will foster the integration of shallow geothermal solutions into existing fossil-fuel based domestic HC systems, raise awareness, and enhance capacities. The project's budget is 2,481,000.00 EUR (co-financed by the European Union in the amount of €1,984,800.00, or 80%). The project implementation period is from January 1st, 2024, to June 30th, 2026.