Croatia Signs €35.3 Million Geothermal Project Agreement to Drill 4 New Wells

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 9, Croatia's Ministry of Economy, the Hydrocarbon Agency, and the Central Finance and Contracting Agency for EU Projects signed a grant agreement for geothermal energy development. The total project investment is €35,294,100, of which €30 million comes from the European Regional Development Fund. The funds will be used to drill one geothermal well in each of four cities—Velika Gorica, Osijek, Vinkovci, and Zaprešić—to advance heat supply development from discovered geothermal resources.

The project is implemented by the Croatian Hydrocarbon Agency and is included in the 2021–2027 Competitiveness and Cohesion Programme. Previously, the relevant areas had confirmed underground hot water resources through geophysical surveys and exploratory drilling. This funding agreement corresponds to the second phase of construction, which will add 4 reinjection wells to form a geothermal water production and reinjection system together with existing production wells, creating conditions for subsequent connection to urban district heating networks.

The City of Osijek completed the Osijek GT-1 exploration well in 2025, with a drilling depth of approximately 2,000 meters, measuring geothermal water temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Celsius and an estimated thermal power of nearly 5 megawatts. The exploration well investment exceeded €8 million. The second phase will involve constructing a reinjection well locally, with the Hydrocarbon Agency, the Osijek City Government, and HEP-Toplinarstvo, a heating company under Croatia's national power company, subsequently advancing connection to the urban heating system.

The Vinkovci GT-1 exploration well in the Vinkovci area is located in the Jarmina region, with a drilling depth of 2,700 meters, a maximum measured bottom-hole temperature of 131 degrees Celsius, and a wellhead geothermal water temperature of approximately 100 degrees Celsius. The local investment for this phase is expected to exceed €8 million. The city government previously proposed that the future geothermal heating system would initially cover more than 1,700 households, and is studying heat supply to schools, kindergartens, and public facilities.

The City of Velika Gorica previously measured formation temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Celsius through an exploration well approximately 3,000 meters deep. The second phase will continue constructing supporting geothermal wells, with subsequent studies on connecting to existing district heating facilities. The City of Zaprešić is simultaneously advancing its geothermal resource utilization plan, with planned heat supply targets including residential buildings, schools, sports facilities, and public service buildings.

The Croatian government previously allocated €50.8 million for the first phase of geothermal exploration through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Combined with the second-phase funding, the cumulative investment across both phases for the geothermal development projects in the four cities exceeds €86 million. Applications for second-phase funding opened in June 2026, with a financing decision made on August 31 and the grant agreement signed on October 9.