Research consortium receives €10m EU grant to develop superhot geothermal technologies
Nesjavellir geothermal plant, Iceland (source: ThinkGeoEnergy, creative commons)
Carlo Cariaga
24 Apr 2026
The SHiFT research consortium has received a EUR 10 million grant from the EU to develop and test technologies to harness geothermal resources beyond 400 °C.
Reykjavik Energy (Orkuveitan) is launching a superhot geothermal development program under the SuperHot geothermal – Integrated demonstration and Flow Testing (SHiFT) research consortium. To this end, the consortium has received a EUR 10 million grant from Horizon Europe, the European Union’s research and innovation programme.
The program is an ambitious three-year plan with a total budget of EUR 28 million, with the goal of significantly enhancing the utilization potential of geothermal fields through deeper and hotter wells, while substantially advancing knowledge in geothermal research. The grant will support the development and testing of technologies to harness geothermal energy at temperatures exceeding 400 °C. Reykjavik Energy had recently signed a cooperation agreement with Icelandic companies as part of the initiative.
This work is carried out through the SHiFT collaboration, a consortium of 17 companies, institutions, and universities from across Europe. In addition to Reykjavik Energy, project partners include ON Power, COWI, Verkís, KMT, Reykjavík University, ÍSOR, GEROSION, Fraunhofer- (Germany), GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (Germany), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Italy), Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Germany), Geolorn Ltd (UK), Enel Green Power S.p.A. (Italy), Technovative Solutions Ltd (UK), Imerys Aluminates (France), and the University of Glasgow (Scotland).
“To reach greater depths and hotter resources, equipment must be developed and designed to withstand extreme conditions, including casings, valves, cement, and more. In strong collaboration with domestic and international partners, we aim to drill, test different solutions under real conditions, and solve each challenge step by step. That is what Reykjavík Energy’s superhot journey is about, and we look forward to the work ahead,” says Hera Grímsdóttir, Managing Director of Research and Innovation at Reykjavik Energy.
“Successfully harnessing superhot geothermal energy will have a major impact on the future use of renewable energy sources, both in Iceland and globally. We are therefore extremely happy to receive this substantial grant from Horizon Europe, which reflects strong confidence in the project as a whole.”
Kick-off and drilling plans
The Kick-Off of the project is planned to take place in Larderello in May. “We look forward to launching this important project in a historically significant geothermal location, joining the impressive group of partners in honing our objectives for SHiFT and continuing thesuperhot journey in Iceland,” says the program leader for superhot geothermal at Reykjavik Energy, Sigurdur Markusson.
The drilling of the first well of the program (IDDP-3), the next step in the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP), is scheduled for late 2026 at Nesjavellir. This drilling project further recently received the highest grant awarded by the Icelandic Climate and Energy Fund, amounting to approx. €2 million and will be executed by the Iceland Drilling Company. A second research well will be drilled at the end of 2027, looking into deep reinjection into superhot systems.
Source: Email correspondence
