CROST Nonprofit Ltd. is a partner in the Danube GeoHeCo transnational cooperation project, which has been granted under the INTERREG Danube Transnational Programme.
The project aims at the dissemination of so-called shallow geothermal heating and cooling systems in the Danube region. This mainly involves the promotion of ground source heat pumps, a technology with a huge potential for heating and cooling in the countries of the Danube region, although their uptake is still very low. An example is Hungary, where there is only 1 geothermal heat pump system per 1000 inhabitants, compared to 60 in Sweden. So there is plenty of room for development in this field.
The transnational project covers 8 countries and the total number of project partners is 13, half of which are development agencies (such as CROST) and half are academic centres (universities, research institutes).
The first block of the project will focus on the optimisation of the design and technology of shallow geothermal heating and cooling systems, one of the main outputs of which will be an IT tool to assist in the optimal installation of geothermal heat pump systems.
The second block will focus on community planning, with working groups being set up in each country to formulate development proposals for the uptake of geothermal heat pump systems. The main outcome of this block will be a transnational Action Plan to support policy and decision making in the countries of the Danube region.
The third block aims to support the market uptake of shallow geothermal heat pump systems by creating an internet-based Digital Platform to help connect the supply and demand side of geothermal heat pumps. The block will include organisation of webinars, training programmes, national conferences and the presentation of project results at relevant international conferences and forums.
The lead partner of the project is MENEA (Medjimurje Energy AgencyLtd.) in Croatia. CROST Nonprofit Ltd. will be responsible for the project in Hungary together with InnoGeo Nonprofit Ltd., a non-profit organisation affiliated to the University of Szeged, and will be responsible for the development of the transnational Action Plan.
The project is expected to start on 1 January 2024.
The objectives and main content of the project were presented by György Márton, managing director of CROST Nonprofit Ltd., representing the Danube GeoHeCo transnational project at the meeting of the Danube Transnational Strategy PA2 Sustainable Energy Steering Group on 28 November 2023 in Budapest, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
