Dutch geothermal company Yeager Energy from the Netherlands, an operator of geothermal energy systems and district heating networks, recently joined the German Geothermal Association (Bundesverband Geothermal). In an interview with the association, Robin Hamersma answered some questions on the background of the company, the interest in Germany, and what lessons Germany can learn from the Dutch geothermal development.

"Yeager Energy B.V. is an integrated developer and operator of Deep Geothermal Energy and (smart) District Heating Networks. Our vision is to become an industry leader in the safe supply of sustainable, reliable, and affordable heat to residential customers, the industry, and the greenhouse sector," Hamersma said.

Parallel to the company’s developments in The Netherlands, it seeks to expand the business further within Europe and sees Germany as a potentially interesting market for the provision of sustainable heat and power through geothermal energy. The sustainable power market is already an established business in Germany: "the company believes that the sustainable heat market offers a lot of potential throughout Germany and we are currently investigating this market," Hamersma said. At the same time, however, “we do not rule out taking a position in the geothermal power market."

The high-tech greenhouse sector in the West of The Netherlands has been at the forefront of introducing geothermal energy at a large scale in their greenhouses starting some 15 years ago, and one of the goals of this sector is to become much more environmentally sustainable. The sector still uses vast amounts of natural gas for heating, but also uses the latest technology like robots and autonomous drones and has become the second-largest food producer in the world (after the USA) with some EUR 5 billion in exports per year.