30 million euros for the Hydrocarbon Agency for geothermal potential research

On Thursday, a contract was signed at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development for the allocation of nearly 30 million euros to the Hydrocarbon Agency (AZU) for the preparation and research project of geothermal potential for six projects, or areas located in the Pannonian part of Croatia.

These funds are for researching geothermal potential in Croatia from the National Recovery and Resilience Program, which the Ministry directly allocated to the Agency within the call for the project ‘Preparation and Research of Geothermal Potential’, aimed at exploring the possibilities of using geothermal energy in district heating, thereby contributing to the modernization of the public heating system. The contract was signed by the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Davor Filipović, the Director of the Hydrocarbon Agency Marijan Krpan, and the Director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund Luka Balen.

– We will start drilling next year near Velika Gorica and Osijek, and the other four areas we will explore are around Zaprešić, Sisak, Vukovar, and Vinkovci, which we selected based on our database. All of these are still exploratory activities and testing, which carry risks, but we believe there is geothermal water that we can use for heating, as confirmed by surrounding wells in those areas – emphasized AZU Director Marijan Krpan during the contract signing.

He announced that a tender will be issued for contractors, adding that it would be logical for Crosco and Ina to undertake this work. In response to a journalist’s question, he stated that geothermal water for heating is currently used in several spas in Croatia, for heating the Zagreb sports center Mladost and the student dormitory ‘Sava’, as well as for some greenhouses, such as those of the company Rajska for tomato production.

Minister Filipović highlighted the importance of this contract for the further green energy transition in Croatia towards greater use of geothermal energy, which is also in line with the EU Green Deal.

– It is important that this will be produced in Croatia, contributing to the modernization of the public heating system, which will also mean an increase in the share of renewable energy sources in district heating and a reduction in the need for fossil fuels and harmful gases in the air. This is also a continuation of everything we have done so far towards greater use of clean, green energy, and the Ministry will support all such projects. This has been talked about in Croatia for a long time, and this Government is implementing it – stated Filipović.

The Director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund Luka Balen said that the Fund supports such and all other investments in renewable energy sources, including geothermal.

– By the end of November or at the latest by the end of this year, the Fund will announce the conditions for a new public call for the energy renovation of houses, so that applications can start being accepted at the beginning of next year. The call will be intended for everyone, especially those whose houses were damaged in the earthquakes – announced Balen.