DENMARK Trends and Developments Contributed by: Jakob Østervang, Peter Østergaard Nielsen, Anders Hørlyck Jensen and Tejs Degn Leth Ernst, Accura Advokatpartnerselskab
Danish and European cities. The Aarhus project alone is expected to supply approximately 20% of the city’s district heating, covering 36,000 households, with a total capacity of 110 MW thermal. The project is structured around a 30-year non-terminable capac- ity agreement with Kredsløb, the municipal utility, and required a legislative exemption from Denmark’s heat supply law. In parallel, Green Therma, a Danish startup, is devel- oping a novel closed-loop geothermal system. Unlike conventional systems, Green Therma uses a single borehole with concentric flow to minimise heat loss and reduce drilling costs. The system is designed to operate independently of geological constraints, avoiding fracking, corrosion and contamination risks. Green Therma has received funding from the Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP) for a full-scale demonstration plant in Aalborg, in partnership with Aalborg Forsyning. As part of the project, Aalborg Forsyning has signed a 30-year offtake agreement to purchase heat from the plant, integrating it into the city’s district heating sys- tem. Green Therma is currently seeking early-stage venture funding to complement its public grant and complete its full-scale demonstration project.
While geothermal energy remains a high-risk sec- tor – due to drilling complexity, site selection and competition from cheaper heat sources – Innargi’s infrastructure-led approach and Green Therma’s tech- nology-driven model represent two distinct paths to commercialisation. Both companies are leveraging oil and gas expertise to de-risk development and scale operations. As policy support grows – evidenced by recent EU- level initiatives – and Denmark’s district heating infra- structure provides a natural fit, geothermal energy is poised to become a more prominent part of the renewable energy mix. M&A activity is expected to follow, particularly in the form of strategic partner- ships, technology licensing and infrastructure fund participation.
105 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook