Learning Together Towards Green Energy Solutions ‒ EGT-TWINN Builds European Research Capacity
Solar and wind energy are usually in focus when we think about green energy. It would be also important to raise geothermal energy alongside these options as a clean, fossil-free energy and promote its utilization. Sharing knowledge between researchers and geological surveys is an important step towards greener energy solutions.
Four European geological surveys and one university have entered an exciting knowledge-building and experience-exchanging cooperation project. A three-year Horizon Europe Widera project EGT-TWINN aims to enhance research and technical capacity at the Estonian Geological Survey (EGT) to accelerate Estonia’s transition from fossil fuel energy to green energy utilization.
“The main goal of this project is to develop and advance the research capacities of the Estonian Geological Survey,” explains Heikki Bauert, the project lead from EGT. “We are the youngest geological survey in Europe, and we have much to learn from our partners – some of whom have already been ‘in business’ for over 100 years. We take the need for transition to Green Energy very seriously; for that, we must now take giant leaps in knowledge and capacity building in many research fields. And this is exactly what this project is set out to do,” Bauert says.
Throughout this project, the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), the British Geological Survey (BGS), the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and the University of Oulu Mining School, will undertake numerous joint training and peer-to-peer research activities with the staff of the EGT. “I have a good feeling about this project. Already at the time of intense proposal writing all partners truly contributed and showed their commitment to the project. This was an excellent start for the cooperation,” says senior specialist Juha Kaija from GTK.
The partners invest in joint competence growth
The project is about learning together and learning from each other. Personnel from attending organizations are welcome to join training courses along with Estonian colleagues to improve their skills. This is also a great opportunity for networking and creating new cooperation.
“We are very excited about the launch of the EGT-TWINN project here in Estonia,” states the Director of EGT, Sirli Sipp Kulli. She explains further: “During this project, our staff will have the opportunity to learn from the best and share our approaches. Our people can work side-by-side with world-class practitioners in the fields of, for example, 3D geological modelling, mineral exploration, and geothermal energy studies – the areas where we are at the beginning of a very exciting journey.”
At least four international conferences will be organized within the next three years to disseminate the results and foster project outreach. These will focus on increasingly important topics such as critical mineral exploration and exploitation in the light of Social License to Explore and Operate, but also on geothermal energy and district heating, and urban geochemical baseline studies.
Particularly about geothermal energy, the EGT-TWINN aims to deliver a series of seminars and courses in Denmark, the UK, and Finland. “We will kick-start our collaboration already this summer,” says senior geothermal researcher Alan Bischoff from GTK.
In May 2023, EGT-TWINN, in partnership with GTK’s Funding for the Development of Strategic Competencies, will host a two day seminar and field trip activity designed to share fundamental knowledge about the petrophysical properties of deep crystalline rocks and their interaction with sedimentary basins. Estonia, like Finland, sits in a challenging geothermal setting, away from the Earth’s heat that naturally comes from volcanism or rifting. “We need to be innovative and share expertise as much as possible if we want to make geothermal energy work here in Estonia and Finland,” explains Bischoff.
The EGT-TWINN project facilitates the much-needed collaboration between the leading international research institutions, hopefully growing into long-term fruitful cooperation after the project ends.
“I am looking forward to cooperation between EGT and GTK. This will open up many opportunities for multidisciplinary cooperation, both in EU-funded research projects and also as an bilateral collaboration. I believe that EGT-TWINN project is a good start, and as we learn to know each other better we can step towards a deeper research cooperation in the future,” says Director General of GTK Kimmo Tiilikainen.
Further information
Juha Kaija, Senior specialist
Geological Survey of Finland GTK
E-mail: juha.kaija@gtk.fi
Tel. +358 29 503 2572
Heikki Bauert, EGT-TWINN Project lead
Estonian Geological Survey EGT
E-mail: heikki.bauert@egt.ee
Tel. +372 5340 5654
Introduction to EGT-TWINN on the project website
EGT-TWINN: Enhancing Research Capacity at the Geological Survey of Estonia to Accelerate the Country’s Transition to Green Energy
The EGT-TWINN project is funded by the European Union Grant Agreement No. 101079459–EGT-TWINN–HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03
