热门领域：欧洲地热能

Hot stuff: geothermal Technological advances are expanding where geothermal electricity canbe produced - making it a cost-competitive, secure alternative to gas for Published date: 04 February 2026Lead author: Tatiana MindekováOther authors: Gianluca Geneletti About This analysis examines how advances in geothermal technology are changingthe prospects for geothermal electricity in Europe: its resource potential, costs Cost-competitive geothermal isready to scale across Europe Advances in drilling and reservoir engineering are unlocking geothermalelectricity across much wider parts of Europe, at a time when the powersystem needs firm, low-carbon supply and reduced reliance on fossil fuels. ●Around43 GW of enhanced geothermal capacity in the European Unioncould be developed at costs below 100 €/MWh today, comparable tocoal and gas electricity. The largest potential is concentrated in Hungary, followed by Poland, Germany and France.●While representing only a fraction of Europe’s total geothermal potential,the identified EU-level deployment could deliver around 301 TWh of ●The EU risks losing its geothermal leadership without stronger politicalprioritisation.Globally, geothermal could meet up to 15% of growth inelectricity demand by 2050. Yet deployment across the EU remains slow Modern geothermal is pushing the energy transition to new depths,opening up clean power resources that were long considered out ofreach and too expensive. But today, geothermal electricity can be Tatiana MindekovaPolicy Advisor, Ember Technological progress rewrites Technologies allow geothermal to deliver scalable and clean power acrossmuch of Europe. Not just in volcanic regions. Across the European Union, around43 GW of enhanced geothermal capacity could be developed at costs below Suitable areas for geothermal energy production continue Geothermal power generation was long considered viable only in volcanicregions such as Iceland or Indonesia. Conventional geothermal relied onunderground rock formations that were both hot and naturally permeable, During the last decade, progress in geothermal technologies - often referred toas ‘next generation geothermal’ - has removed the need for naturally occurring flow. New approaches can now create or enhance these flow pathwaysartificially. Combined with more cost-effective deep drilling and advances inpower-conversion systems that enable electricity generation at lower Next-generation geothermal can already deliver cost-competitive power Recent advances in geothermal systems mean that geothermal electricity cannow be produced at prices comparable to coal- and gas-fired generation, evenoutside traditionally high-temperature zones. Focusing on projects with Under this threshold, Hungary accounts for the largest share, with around 28 GW,followed by Türkiye with almost 6 GW and Poland, Germany, and France with For EU member states alone, this corresponds to around 43 GW of deployablegeothermal capacity, capable of generating approximately 301.3 TWh of At these cost levels, geothermal power would be competitive with the prices setby coal- and gas-fired generation in European power markets, where short-runmarginal cost has been oscillatingbetween 90 and 150 €/MWh in 2025. Not only New ways of harnessing and storing energy The potential of geothermal energy for electricity generation is expanded bychanges in the design of geothermal projects. The term next-generationgeothermal encompasses several design improvements to geothermal systems. In EGS projects, wells are drilled into hot rock and permeability is created orenhanced to allow a working fluid to circulate and extract heat. The heated fluid Experience from recent projects shows that seismic risks resulting from such Geothermal reservoirs can be operated flexibly to absorb surplus wind or solarelectricity indirectly, primarily through increased pumping and injection, andlater the release of stored thermal and pressure energy to generate additional In addition, geothermal operations can generate value beyond electricitythrough the recovery of critical minerals from produced brines.Lithiumconcentrationsin geothermal brines typically range in levels that can be Falling costs, deeper wells Geothermal electricity is already cost-competitive with fossil fuels in Europe. Thelevelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of geothermal power - the cost of producingone unit of electricity based on the construction and operating costs of a powerplant over its lifetime - is already low, at aroundUSD 60 /MWh, placing it below Drilling and reservoir development remain the dominant drivers of capitalexpenditure, making early-stage investment risk a central barrier for deeper andmore complex projects. Over the past decade, however, drilling and Geothermal electricity potential increases as drilling reaches deeper,higher-temperature resources, but the depth at which suitable temperaturesoccur varies significantly across countries. In the