A solution from the depths - Geothermal energy opens up new horizons for Hungary

Our country has favourable geological conditions, and geothermal energy, geothermal heat extraction and the use of thermal water can provide predictable and affordable energy for households and businesses. However, successful investment requires the production and availability of modern and up-to-date geological maps and deep geological models. This is one of the tasks of the Regulated Activities Supervisory Authority, established in 2021, which aims to create a stable and predictable operational and regulatory environment for all the sectors it oversees, including mining and geological activities, which are now a priority for energy security.  

The authority's managers are also gathering personal experience: they recently carried out a site visit to the Bayer Construct geothermal well drilling site in Tököli. The delegation included President László Nagy, Vice President for Strategy Bence Gonda, National Mining Commissioner Zoltán Káldi and Director of the Geological Survey Tamás Fancsik.

Hungary can reduce its dependence on energy imports by relying on its own resources

Our country is one of the countries in the world whose geology opens up enormous prospects for secure energy supply through the use of thermal water and geothermal energy. Heat from the inner layers of our planet can be extracted through drilling and converted into electricity.
The thickness of the earth's crust in the Carpathian Basin is about half the continental average. This also means that Hungary has a higher ground temperature than most of Europe, which is very advantageous for geothermal energy. To this end, a comprehensive geothermal programme has been prepared.

The target is to use geothermal energy to reduce annual gas demand by 1-1.5 billion cubic metres by 2030.

The negative effects of energy price runaway and supply disruptions and import dependence can therefore be offset by exploiting geothermal potential. Over the past decade and a half, geothermal thermal energy production has developed dynamically, and further expansion is supported by the development of the National Geothermal Strategy, the introduction of a more flexible licensing system and the establishment of the Hungarian Geothermal Cluster.

Successful investments are based on unlocking the secrets of depth

Since 2022, the Geological Survey has been operating under the auspices of the UGSO, which has been collecting and building up its geophysical database since the beginning of the 20th century. It also maintains the State Register of Mineral Resources and Geothermal Energy Assets. The key to successful geothermal investments is the professional management of the available state geological data, its continuous expansion and its availability to the industry. The main objective of the State Geothermal Research Programme, led by the SZTFH, is to organise the available data into data packages and to conduct studies in geothermally underexplored areas of the country.

New exploration sites gain momentum

The new legislative framework, to be introduced in 2022, will also cover the exploration, extraction and use of geothermal energy. The effectiveness of the new licensing framework is demonstrated by the fact that more than 100 applications for exploration licences have been received by the TSO so far, and

In less than a year and a half, the first successful drilling investments were completed.

Protection of already exploited energy sources is also a priority

The majority of applications submitted are for Budapest. This has made it urgent to map the area below the capital, in particular to expand the knowledge of the thermal karst in Budapest. This will increase the efficiency of the official licensing process, while reducing the geological risk of priority uses and ensuring the protection of the water supply of historic baths, for example.
SZTFH is taking an active role in ensuring that an increasing number of successful sustainable geothermal investments can be realised throughout the country.