| Title | Geo-Energy Europe: the European Strategy to Consolidate the Internationalisation of the Geothermal Industry |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas GARABETIAN, Stephen WALSH, Emmanuelle ROBINS, Cannur BOZKURT, Ana CASILLAS, Dario BONCIANI, Virginie SCHMILDE-BLOCH, Thor NOEVIG, Ferenc FEDOR |
| Year | 2020 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | export, SMEs, cooperation, internationalisation, EU project |
| Abstract | The European geothermal industry is quite fragmented as a result of the existence of many national markets with varying priorities, regulatory frameworks and market maturity for geothermal energy technologies. While the European geothermal energy market is progressing towards a greater degree of internationalisation and competition across national lines, European companies in the geothermal industry, notably small and medium size enterprises, are not able to build on the depth of the European sector to propose their services beyond Europe. The objective of the GEO ENERGY EUROPE 2 is to assist European Small and Medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to win work in third country markets. This objective will be accomplished through international business development and capacity building activities tailored to the strengths of the member companies and the markets which they have an ambition to export to. The main target markets of this GEO ENERGY EUROPE meta cluster are Kenya, Chile, Canada and Ethiopia. Diversifying the markets of European SMEs is key in order to ensure their financial robustness in the event of adverse economic conditions, in addition to supporting the expansion of employment in a niche scientific and engineering related discipline. While exporting geo-energy related expertise is the core business area of the GEO ENERGY EUROPE SMEs, cross sectoral business opportunities exist which further contribute the capacity for European SMEs to diversify their operations. This is of particular importance in instances where the geo-energy companies main business area is in the field of hydrocarbons which are in the process of being phased out of global energy supplies. The creation of new sustainable services for these companies in particular, which draw on the companies knowledge of the subsurface but applies it in sustainable way, such as the harnessing of geothermal energy, afford the chance of supporting jobs that would be in danger of being obsolete if an alternative market were not identified for their use. This paper will aim at presenting the GEOENERGY EUROPE metacluster, its structure, objectives and strategy. The paper will notably focus on the achievement of the GEO ENERGY EUROPE structure, and draw some key recommendations to facilitate the internationalisation of SMEs in the geothermal energy sector. |