Geothermal Heat for Industrial and Direct-to-Consumer Applications
Panel Description: This panel session deliberately excludes geothermal electricity production; instead, it highlights the many and diverse uses of geothermal heat, without producing CO2 emissions. Think about this question: Why are we burning fossil fuels at temperatures as high as 2,000°C to generate heat at temperatures that often range from 20°C to 150° or a bit higher? Leaving overkill, wastefulness and CO2 emissions aside, this panel has answers to that question and will discuss real solutions that can be implemented today - at scale. The panel will include experts in district heating and cooling solutions for communities, and heat applications for specific industries, such as agriculture (greenhouses, food processing), wood drying, paper and pulp manufacturing, and chemical processes (including pharmaceuticals and brine-hosted minerals). The panelists will discuss the benefits of local geothermal heat projects and their financial and health impact for communities, and their reliability. Through this lens, the panel will not only underscore the flexibility and scalability of geothermal energy, but will also explore how cross-sector deployment, modular infrastructure, financing models, and market incentives can accelerate the deployment of clean geothermal heat.
Moderator and panelists to be announced.