The State Capital of Hanover (LHH) is setting a strong example for climate protection and the energy transition: Together with the energy company enercity and the geothermal pioneer Eavor, it is driving forward one of Europe's first urban deep geothermal projects. Starting in 2027, renewable heat will be extracted from a municipal site in Hanover-Lahe at a depth of approximately 3,200 meters and fed into the district heating grid. The LHH is providing the site at the corner of Kirchhorster Straße and Alte Peiner Heerstraße for this purpose under a long-term leasehold agreement.
"Hanover is a pioneer, as it is the first plant of its kind in a major city. With this, we want to make rural, climate-friendly geothermal energy suitable for urban use and also offer a blueprint for other cities," says Hanover's Mayor Belit Onay. "This project is a decisive step toward converting the state capital's district heating supply to renewable and independent energy. The innovative approach will generate interest in the solution beyond our borders."
Green heat for 20,000 households
The so-called Eavor-Loop™ is a closed system. It functions like a large underground heat exchanger. State-of-the-art drilling technology and an innovative drilling design enable a baseload, weather-independent heat supply. Two of these systems, each with a capacity of 15 MW, are planned for the Hannover-Lahe site. They are expected to supply approximately 250 million kilowatt hours per year – enough to heat up to 20,000 households.
"enercity is a pioneer in the energy and heat transition. That's why, together with our partner Eavor, we are bringing this innovative geothermal technology to a major German city for the first time. Together, we are not only driving the project forward in Hanover, but are also actively shaping the energy future in Northern Germany together with local partners and our exclusive cooperation with Eavor. Because investing in the heat transition is investing in regional value creation and security of supply for the business location," says enercity CEO Aurélie Alemany.
Innovative technology, new standards
Eavor's closed system operates without access to natural hot water reservoirs. Instead, a water-based medium circulates through kilometers of deep boreholes – powered solely by the so-called thermosiphon effect. Heat is absorbed from the surrounding rock through thermal conduction and transported to the surface.
"Our goal is to supply cities with renewable and reliable energy using scalable deep geothermal energy – entirely without emissions, fracking, or thermal sources. Hanover is the first major city in Germany where we are permitted to implement this technology – and we are very grateful to the state capital and enercity for this," says Marco Becker, Managing Director of Eavor GmbH. "Following our first project in Geretsried, this is a milestone for our company and a clear sign of the transformation of heat supply."
A project innovation with appeal beyond Hanover
The geothermal plant is expected to cover approximately 15 to 20 percent of Hanover's district heating needs. It will thus make a significant contribution to the city's planned climate neutrality by 2035 and its phase-out of coal.
"Innovative and sustainable key technologies like the Eavor-Loop™ are essential for a future-proof energy supply and a strong business location. As the state capital, we are assuming responsibility and enabling the implementation of this pioneering project by providing land," emphasizes Anja Ritschel, Head of Economic and Environmental Affairs at the State of Hamburg.
Next steps and citizen dialogue
On Wednesday, September 3, 2025, the project will
be on the agenda during the public session of the Bothfeld-Vahrenheide District Council. Representatives from Eavor and enercity will be present and will be happy to answer questions from the district council members.
Eavor and enercity will also present the project at the Geothermal Energy Day on September 12-13, 2025, at the State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology in Stilleweg. Online info: Geothermal Energy Day 2025 – Experience geothermal energy! | State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology
Press contact
State Capital of Hanover
Press Office | presse@hannover-stadt.de
enercity AG
Corporate Communications | presse@enercity.de Eavor Alexander Land presse@eavor.de
Eavor GmbH is a subsidiary of Eavor Technologies Inc. Its mission is to develop geothermal heat and power generation projects in Germany. The parent company, Eavor Technologies Inc., was founded in Canada in 2017 by specialists from the energy industry. Numerous groundbreaking patents in drilling technology and borehole sealing form the foundation of the Eavor Loop™ technology. In Geretsried, Eavor™ is writing the next chapter of the energy transition. The Eavor Loop™ is a closed-system geothermal power plant. A heat medium circulates independently in the deep rock in an