“A lovely little department dedicated to geothermal energy. That’s what I found when I started at the International Geothermal Association (IGA) in 2017,” says Marit Brommer, who had left a demanding role working on challenging subsurface projects at Shell.
But it wasn’t exactly what she had expected.
“Even though I knew that IGA was obviously very small compared to an oil major, I did think I was joining another efficient global organisation. But even though it had already existed for almost 30 years at the time, it was still quite fragmented and funding solely relied on a single EU grant,” says Marit.
“When looking back now, I understand much better that I actually had a mandate to implement change rather than a remit to continue as usual. This mandate included turning the IGA into a more visible organisation; larger, more independent, and a global go-to vehicle for geothermal best practices, knowledge sharing and advocacy.”
It meant a radical change, which did not always come easily. “I had no history in geothermal energy, and all of a sudden, I was the Executive Director, changing the way we worked. I would be lying if I said everybody welcomed that,” Marit says.
“But maybe my lack of expertise was an advantage at the same time,” she continues. “It allowed me to restructure in a way that allowed the new model to work.”
What was this new model all about?
“First of all,” Marit says, “we needed to move away from the academic outpost of Bochum, and become a fully independent organisation with our own base.” How to make that happen, though, and where to go?
To become more financially independent, Marit soon realised that the funding model needed to change, with more buy-in from the industry. She started making the case to companies active in the energy sector. “If you want to see geothermal grow, facilitate learning and have a platform that acts as an incubator for the international geothermal sector, you have to support us,” she wrote in letters and emails to potential partners.
It worked.
I had no history in geothermal energy, and all of a sudden, I was the Executive Director, changing the way we worked
Marit secured more than 25 companies to underwrite the goals of the organisation, supported by 30 member countries. “Let’s face it,” says Marit, “during those years, there was increasing public and governmental pressure on energy companies to diversify their energy mix. It helped get companies like Shell on board as sponsors, but also service companies such as Baker and Halliburton.”
Then, the location. It became the city of Bonn, where many UN organisations, also in the energy and climate space, are based, and which seemed a good fit for her organisation at the time.
“When the move to Bonn was completed, and our funding model was completely overhauled, I looked back with satisfaction,” said Marit. But soon she was about to find out that it wasn’t all plain sailing.
Diplomacy does not work via Teams
“The pandemic was detrimental to our goals to continue our mission,” Marit says. “No matter your cultural background, diplomacy only works when meeting people face to face. Doing business might work that way,” she adds, “but diplomacy relies on real human interactions.”
No matter your cultural background, diplomacy only works when meeting people face to face
“At the start of the pandemic, people were still up for having calls early in the morning or late at night to accommodate time zones, but that energy soon dissipated. Also, the World Geothermal Congress, which was about to happen in spring 2020 in Reykjavik, was postponed. Even though it did ultimately take place in October 2021, I feel that by that time we had already lost a bit of our momentum,” says Marit.
There is another factor at play, too. “To be brutally honest,” she continues, “over the past five years, our message got more and more diluted by the advance of the (green) hydrogen hype. Everybody started to do hydrogen. How many posts have I seen claiming that solving the storage issue that comes with intermittent sun and wind is now behind us? It did not help putting geothermal centre stage, as strange as it sounds, that there is competition when it comes to pushing different renewable energy solutions.”
And, on the back of that, it also turned out that Bonn was not the best place to be. “As an organisation like ours, you not only need an international audience, you also need a local audience that is keen to hear from you and develop initiatives with. It did not materialise in Bonn to the extent I had foreseen,” admits Marit.
…geothermal is becoming more visible again…
For that reason, it became clear that the organisation would benefit from another home, yet again. It became Den Haag in the Netherlands. “Certainly not because I am Dutch myself,” laughs Marit, “there were many other good reasons for this. In 2021, there was a big drive to expand geothermal in the Netherlands, both from a governmental and private sector perspective. There was a geothermal master plan, a road map, and a great network of embassies and organisations supporting the Sustainable Development Goals. All in all, the perfect place for an organisation like ours. And judging by the number of events we had and hosted in those first two years, it surely was a good move.”
Fast forward to 2025, the overall picture has changed yet again for Marit and her organisation. Let’s now take a look at how bursting bubbles and China play a key role in the narrative today.
WHERE THINGS ARE HAPPENING TODAY
“It is great to see how the USA is a hotbed of new technology, both in the realms of drilling and reservoir stimulation,” says Marit when we get to speak about ways to accelerate the pace with which geothermal wells can be completed. “It is a major pillar on which future project decisions will hinge.”
“As a global organisation, it is very important to closely follow developments in these domains, she says, but I also feel that we need to pay attention to the areas where things are happening today, as that is currently where our growth takes place. R&D projects are great ways to gain exposure, but it is important to realise that they do not yet contribute to our baseline.”
“The places where recent growth in electricity production has concentrated are all in areas where geothermal already was an established player; New Zealand, Kenya and Indonesia. This is not so much in the news, but it is something we have to be mindful of and also share better, as it is in these areas where the action happens.”
Marit also stresses that there are tens of thousands of volcanically active islands, most with only small populations, that would greatly benefit from having a small conventional geothermal system, which would make them completely independent of diesel imports for electricity generation. It is those sort of opportunities we also need to pay attention to, as it is low-hanging and tangible fruit.”
A new reality
“We are back in the spotlights,” says Marit after a short break. “There is a more nuanced view coming through on what hydrogen can and cannot do for the energy transition, which means that geothermal is becoming more visible again as a result. In the way we want it to be, as a solution to provide baseload energy round the clock.”
“However, that doesn’t mean we are back to where we were in 2020,” she says, “because we also see that the E&P industry looks at their commitment to geothermal in different ways than before, with Shell being a prime example. “The company recently decided to divest its interests in geothermal energy projects in the Netherlands, but decided to invest in the geothermal power business in the USA at the same time,” Marit says. “It demonstrates that the company is not yet convinced of low-enthalpy geothermal in their project portfolio.”
… the only reason why China is growing so rapidly when it comes to geothermal energy is that there is the political will to do it and make it happen.
Is that a wake-up call? Yes, it is, and it fits into the overall change of the energy debate towards security of supply and the continued focus of majors to look at shareholders’ returns.
This has exposed an important difference between geothermal energy versus oil and gas production.
“We can not see geothermal energy as a vehicle on the same footing as oil and gas,“ says Marit. “Oil and gas as a business model works. Otherwise, we would not have a society that is so dependent on it. But where oil and gas is a commercially viable venture, the geothermal sector, wherever you look, is dependent on subsidies. There is not a single geothermal project across the globe that runs entirely on commercial principles. Money needs to be injected first to make it happen.”
“Let’s accept this,” says Marit, “and regard geothermal as a utility, not as a commodity. If we do that, I’m convinced that we can work towards an energy system that still includes geothermal.”
That’s where the public sector comes in.
“As long as there is no public mandate and political backing to implement geothermal energy at scale, in collaboration with private parties carrying out the work, you will always keep on having one-off projects such as the ones we are seeing around us too often. It is not what we need. We need more examples like Munich, Paris, and more… China’s!”
In fact, it is China where things have really taken off.
China as a role model
“Let’s not sugarcoat it,” says Marit, “the only reason why China is growing so rapidly when it comes to geothermal energy is that there is the political will to do it and make it happen.”
“A lot can be said about the country, but it is remarkable to see how a mandate turns into action on a grand scale, something we cannot replicate in Europe by any stretch of the imagination,” she says. “An example is the master plan to clean the air in the inner cities, which means that heating and cooling need to decarbonise. In turn, this has resulted in the phasing out of coal used for that purpose. Combined with the fact that China does not have ample gas supplies and is reluctant to become even more dependent on imports, geothermal presented itself as a viable alternative.”
And where Shell has shown to be lukewarm to the geothermal business case, Sinopec has turned into an important water driller. The combination of geothermal expertise brought in from Iceland, Sinopec’s drilling experience, and access to manpower and rigs has resulted in the completion of more than 1,000 deep geothermal wells over the past decade.
“This is how to upscale conventional geothermal – because that is what it really is – drilling to 2 to 3 km to tap into 80-90° C brines. It has led to the realisation of around 40 GWth. In addition, more than 8,000 shallow geothermal boreholes were added to that at the same time,” Marit explains. “It is a school example of how broad government support can result in the large-scale implementation of a geothermal action plan.”
What is happening in the west?
We come back to speak about Europe. “When looking at what China can pull off, I think that we have to conclude that despite all the road maps, master plans, and one-off projects, Europe is lagging behind,” says Marit. “To put it even more bluntly, I feel that in some ways Europe does not seem to want geothermal to grow significantly. At the moment, I see more stall than speed,” she says, “with processes and procedures causing long delays.”
And what is the reason for this delay? ”We experienced dilution of our message when the hydrogen hype started to develop around 2020, but what I increasingly see now is that despite all the promises and plans, the reality is that our biggest competitor is not hydrogen, but oil and gas,” Marit says. “At the end of the day, 90 % of heating and cooling is still supplied by hydrocarbons, and trust me, there is an efficient network of people behind the scenes talking to individual governments to make a case for that.”
“And this is all happening when we see another country growing geothermal at scale. If anything, it proves that it can be done, with the right political momentum in place. Europeans need to be careful not to become fence sitters.”
THE BIGGEST GEOTHERMAL CONFERENCE EVER
“The World Geothermal Congress, which took place in Beijing in 2023, was the biggest one we have ever had,” says Marit. “It is another sign of how serious the country is about the role of geothermal in the overall energy mix. Sure, it is run in a typically Chinese way, being a little bit stiff and very protocolised. In that sense, the field trips and dinners are essential to talk to people and get a better impression of what is really happening. Also, I don’t know how many business deals are done, and there are fewer press releases compared to what we are used to in the West. But, let’s be clear, I do have a lot of respect for China, and the action they take.”
The way forward
“Playtime is over,” Marit concludes as we near the end of this interview. After eight years at the helm of the IGA, she is still incredibly passionate about the role geothermal can play in the world’s energy mix. Especially now, as security of supply concerns only form another reason to get serious about geothermal. What is better than produce the energy required for domestic heating from your own back yard?
“That’s why I am not giving up,” she adds, “but rather feel empowered now that we have gone through this cycle of maturation as an organisation.” “Will the centre of gravity in the near future move to China then?,” I ask at the very end. “Well, given what is happening there, it does make sense in some ways,” concludes Marit.
