Mar 3, 2026
Geothermal heat provision begins at the Geothermie Delft project in the Netherlands.
The Geothermie Delft geothermal heating plant in Delft, Netherlands has officially opened, providing geothermal heat to sections of the TU Delft campus as well as student housing in Mijnbouwplein, Stieltjesweg, and Michiel de Ruyterweg. The system uses thermal water at 78 °C sourced from approximately 2000 meters deep.
Planning for the geothermal project in Delft began over ten years ago, with initial proposals from Stichting DAP, a student and industry organization associated with TU Delft. In 2018, TU Delft's board agreed in principle to support the project by drilling a research well. Drilling of the geothermal doublet began in mid-2023 and was completed by the end of that year.
Geothermie Delft is a collaborative initiative involving TU Delft, Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN), and Gaia Energy (through Aardyn's acquisition). Besides heating TU Delft buildings and nearby residential properties, the project will function as a research site to collect data and improve geothermal systems' simulation accuracy, thereby minimizing risks for future geothermal projects.
The construction of the project's heat pump center received €50 million in financial aid in mid-2025 from a financing agreement with Rabobank and the Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (NWB Bank). Ivan Das from Rabobank praised the project team for their decade-long perseverance, stating, “In practice, we unfortunately see many promising concepts fail after years of preparation. The success in Delft is due to a combination of determination and excellent stakeholder management.”
Peter Borghstijn of NWB added, “For NWB Bank, this is the first geothermal energy source we’ve financed, and it certainly won’t be the last. Transitioning homes to be natural gas-free is a significant challenge, and geothermal energy will be a critical sustainable resource.”
While there is currently minimal activity at the heat pump center, excavation work continues nearby at Buitenhof. This effort will broaden the geothermal heat supply from TU Delft, increasing the total user base from 6000 rental properties to 15,000.
As the Delft Subsurface Urban Energy Laboratory (DSUEL), the facility also serves as a distinctive platform for researching the safe and responsible scaling up of geothermal energy use. The site will assess research questions related to long-term reservoir performance and material testing, aiming to develop technical solutions for challenges that currently hinder the implementation of geothermal systems in urban settings across the Netherlands.
Planning for the geothermal project in Delft began over ten years ago, with initial proposals from Stichting DAP, a student and industry organization associated with TU Delft. In 2018, TU Delft's board agreed in principle to support the project by drilling a research well. Drilling of the geothermal doublet began in mid-2023 and was completed by the end of that year.
Geothermie Delft is a collaborative initiative involving TU Delft, Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN), and Gaia Energy (through Aardyn's acquisition). Besides heating TU Delft buildings and nearby residential properties, the project will function as a research site to collect data and improve geothermal systems' simulation accuracy, thereby minimizing risks for future geothermal projects.
The construction of the project's heat pump center received €50 million in financial aid in mid-2025 from a financing agreement with Rabobank and the Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (NWB Bank). Ivan Das from Rabobank praised the project team for their decade-long perseverance, stating, “In practice, we unfortunately see many promising concepts fail after years of preparation. The success in Delft is due to a combination of determination and excellent stakeholder management.”
Peter Borghstijn of NWB added, “For NWB Bank, this is the first geothermal energy source we’ve financed, and it certainly won’t be the last. Transitioning homes to be natural gas-free is a significant challenge, and geothermal energy will be a critical sustainable resource.”
While there is currently minimal activity at the heat pump center, excavation work continues nearby at Buitenhof. This effort will broaden the geothermal heat supply from TU Delft, increasing the total user base from 6000 rental properties to 15,000.
As the Delft Subsurface Urban Energy Laboratory (DSUEL), the facility also serves as a distinctive platform for researching the safe and responsible scaling up of geothermal energy use. The site will assess research questions related to long-term reservoir performance and material testing, aiming to develop technical solutions for challenges that currently hinder the implementation of geothermal systems in urban settings across the Netherlands.