Calgary geothermal company making its mark in Europe amidst renewable pause in Alberta

Alberta’s Minister of Environment Rebecca Schulz is celebrating Germany’s inaugural Eaver Loop project, the world’s first scalable, emission free geothermal energy.

The project was created by Eavor Technologies, at a time when the province is going through a seven-month moratorium on the renewable sector — which includes this technology.

The Calgary-based company was awarded a $135 million grant to use renewable energy to power more than 20,000 homes in Germany,

“I think the government has already admitted that they made some mistakes in what they did with the hospital system, right? So they are being been a little cautious. For seven months, I can buy that,” Robert Adolph Schulz, a professor at UCalgary’s Haskayne School of Business. “What are we going to lose? Nothing. And what we’re actually doing, we’re gonna win because Germany is going to pick up the gap, and we’re gonna be able to move the technology, not only back to Alberta, but we can move it to the world from here.”

Schulz says Eavor’s geothermal technology will change the course of renewable energy for Canada and the rest of the world.

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Eavor Technologies is celebrating this win in Germany, and wasn’t available to speak on camera, but a previous interview with their CEO, at the Creative Destruction Lab at the Haskayne School of Business, explains the technology.

“The theory is we are just going to go and drill massive sub-surface radiator that’s just going to collect some surface heat via conduction and bring it to the surface,” explained CEO John Redfern. “Once you have that heat there, you can use it for direct heating or to generate power.”

CityNews reached out to the environment minister’s office for a comment on the timing of this trip amidst the renewable pause in the province.

“The trip is focused on promoting Alberta-based innovation and expertise to European markets,” the ministry’s press secretary said in a statement. “Specifically on geothermal, the Department of Affordability and Utilities has said, there is no impact to geothermal for heat – only power projects are impacted. The department is not aware of any geothermal power projects being impacted by the pause.”