How a Calgary geothermal company is making its mark across the Atlantic

A Calgary geothermal company, Eavor Technologies Inc., has been awarded a grant from the European Innovation Fund (EIF) in support of the Canadian firm's geothermal project in Germany.

The grant is worth €91.6-million, which is about $135 million Cdn.

The innovation fund hands out financial incentives to companies investing in low-carbon technologies in Europe.

"What's interesting about it is not just the money, which is always welcome. It's the validation of being a small Canadian startup and getting one of these awards," said John Redfern, CEO of Eavor, in a Calgary Eyeopener interview.

"It's a new technology export industry for Alberta and for Canada based on what we do best."

The project is in Geretsried, about 45 kilometres southwest of Munich, and it's expected to power about 20,000 homes in Germany.

The private company began as a startup in 2017. It harnesses geothermal energy, a form of renewable energy that comes from heat stored in the earth.

Eavor's technology does not use fracking or aquifers, Redfern said, and does not rely on volcanic temperatures. Instead, the company has created something called an "Eavor-Loop."

"We're just creating this large radiator, or closed loop, that we circulate the fluid in, which gathers the heat from the rock via conduction," he said.

"We like to think it eliminates all the risks involved in other sorts of technology."

Eavor built a prototype to test the technology near Rocky Mountain House in 2019. Redfern said its success has a lot to do with the province's expertise in drilling.

"We used magnetic ranging, which is usually used to make sure wells don't run into each other, [but we] make sure they connect so we can complete the loop, so to speak," he said.

"Once this loop … starts flowing, it continues flowing automatically forever until you stop it. And that's what brings the power to the surface, the heat to the surface."

Construction began on the project in Germany in October 2022, marking the first commercial application of the Eavor-Loop.