As part of the upcoming World Geothermal Congress 2026 in Calgary, Canada, a workshop and roundtable on the implementation of geothermal systems, particularly shallow geothermal or geo-exchange systems, for the heating and cooling of airport. The “IGA Global Geothermal Airport Network Roundtable” is scheduled on 9 June 2026, at 14:30 to 16:30.
The session aims to provide a platform to share understanding of how geothermal technologies are being deployed in airports, identify key barriers and enabling factors, and provide practical insights on building net-zero infrastructure in airports as part of heat decarbonization strategies. One of the goals of the session is to establish the Global Geothermal Airports Network, a structured group where airports, infrastructure owners, and technical stakeholders can:
share implementation experience and operational performance insights
develop common guidance, benchmarking approaches, and decision-support frameworks
support collaborative pilot projects and knowledge exchange
strengthen market confidence and investment readiness for geothermal infrastructure
accelerate the responsible, scalable deployment of geothermal thermal energy systems across the global aviation sector
Data and insights generated during this workshop will be consolidated into a post-session knowledge brief on “Global Geothermal Airports Network – Implementation Insights,” prepared in collaboration with the International Geothermal Association, capturing structured roundtable outputs and feedback.
Call for participants
The event is still open to participants, particularly airport operators who are considering, planning, developing, or operating geothermal energy systems. For those interested in participating in the workshop, please contact Dr Joseph Ireland via jireland@geoservsolutions.com.
Session overview
Airports are among the most energy intensive components of global infrastructure systems, with substantial and growing demands for heating, cooling, and thermal energy storage. Across the aviation sector, airport operators are moving beyond high-level sustainability commitments toward implemented decarbonisation programmes that deliver measurable, data-driven, and auditable infrastructure asset outcomes aligned with net-zero targets, regulatory disclosure requirements, resilience objectives, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, organisations remain at different stages in translating strategy into funded, deliverable, low-risk energy infrastructure assets.
At the same time, the global sustainability landscape is evolving from traditional ESG labelled approaches toward more integrated, risk and performance-driven models that focus on materiality, operational resilience, and verifiable climate transition outcomes. This shift places increasing emphasis on infrastructure as asset solutions capable of delivering long-term, measurable performance rather than high-level policy commitments alone.
This WGC session brings together a selected group of international airports to examine how shallow geothermal (geo-exchange) systems can support practical, scalable, and replicable decarbonisation delivery across airport estates. The workshop is intentionally designed to reflect the full implementation spectrum, from airports translating strategy into feasibility and programme development, through to those progressing geothermal systems through construction, commissioning, and early operation with measured performance outcomes.
Session objectives
Facilitate a practical, experience-led exchange between airports at different stages of their net zero strategy and geothermal implementation
Support airports in evaluating geothermal as a component of net-zero, resilience, and heat-decarbonisation infrastructure strategies
Identify common governance, financing, procurement, and delivery challenges faced by airport owners and operators
Examine geothermal as a long-life campus-scale thermal energy infrastructure asset rather than isolated building-level systems
Enable knowledge sharing that supports replication, scaling, and acceleration of geothermal deployment across the global aviation sector
Establish an IGA lead Global Geothermal Airports Network for ongoing collaboration and communication.