News Summary

• High drilling costs and uncertain cost reductions leave their future unclear.
• In a net-zero system, heat (co-)generating enhanced geothermal plants at current cost can support 20–30 gigawatts of thermal capacity in Europe.
• If drilling costs were to decrease by approximately 60% relative to 2020 costs, the technology would become competitive in electricity markets.
• However, the spatially dispersed rollout of district heating stands against the confined overlap of high geological potential with low potential for other renewables.
• This results in a challenge where the majority of the market potential depends on pan-European technology learning for cost reductions.