The Dutch project MijnWater, which is investigating how water in the abandoned coal mines of Oranje Nassau could be used as a geothermal source for the sustainable low-exergy heating and cooling, was declared the winner of the European Geothermal Innovation Award 2015 at the GeoTHERM exhibition in Offenburg, Germany on March 5th.

Speaking at the award ceremony, European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) President Burkhard Sanner praised the high quality of the entries. “The selection of the final winner was not easy; each nominee was the first choice of at least one juror, but we managed to reach a consensus with MijnWater,” he said.

Earlier the EGEC announced a shortlist of the top four companies that had been endorsed for the award. In addition to MijnWater, the short-list included Comacchio s.r.l. an Italian company that has developed an innovative GEO 909 GT drilling rig allowing faster installation of borehole heat exchangers for shallow geothermal applications. Also on the shortlist were gec-co GmbH, with a controllable, downhole pressure retention valve for hydrogeothermal installations in aquifers with dissolved minerals and gases; and Norway’s Green Energy Group SA, which presented an innovative business model and global technology approach for small-scale geothermal power plants in high enthalpy zones.

Designed as an opportunity for industry peers to acknowledge innovation, and for the most exciting ideas to be widely publicised, the European Geothermal Innovation Award attaches a seal of excellence to the most intelligent and important ideas in research and industry which will play a key role in the future development of geothermal energy. Nominations for the award are assessed based on originality, innovation, reliability, reduction of emissions, and improvements in energy output.

For more information
http://egec.info/mijnwater-b-v-geothermal-innovator-of-2015/
http://www.mijnwater.com/