The webinar “Geothermal heat: diverse non-electrical uses”, second technical online conference organized by UNIDO ITPO Italy in collaboration with UGI - Unione Geotermica Italiana and GAK - Geothermal Association of Kenya, was successfully held on Friday 2nd December 2022.

Focusing on direct applications and ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling, agriculture and industrial applications, the webinar was attended by around 100 operators, professionals and students from Italy, Kenya and the African Rift Countries, where geothermal energy is widely available and could represent a clean, renewable energy source for a secure and sustainable energy transition.

Opened by the welcome remarks of UNIDO ITPO Italy’s Investment Promotion Expert Ms. Ester Temperato, the webinar was moderated by the CEO of GAK Mr. Mike Karanja, and featured the participation as panelists of several Italian experts in the field: namely, Ms. Loredana Torsello and Mr. Dario Bonciani from CoSviG - Consorzio per lo Sviluppo delle Aree Geotermiche, highlighting geothermal heat uses and renewable energy communities; Mr. Simone Rossi from Gruppo HERA, illustrating the success case of the Ferrara integrated district heating system and future development; and Mr. Nicola Massarotti from the Parthenope University, encouraging to bring geothermal heating and cooling in every smart city. The conference was concluded by President of UGI Mr. Bruno Della Vedova after a lively Q&A session, during which the audience had the opportunity to actively pose questions to the panelists on specific topics of interest and further promote know-how transfer in the sector between the two countries towards potential future collaborations.

This initiative was part of the project “Fostering International Partnerships between companies and/or institutions operating in the Energy and Environment sectors” (#FIPEE), implemented by UNIDO ITPO Italy with the support of the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE).