GEOTRAINET

Geo-Education for a sustainable geothermal heating and cooling market

Programme “Intelligent Energy – Europe”

LEGAL BASIS

Decision No. 1639/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 establishing the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme for the period 2007 – 2013 (OJL 310 of 9 November 2006, p. 15, art. 37) geotrainet_390x260 The project is managed by the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation – EACI which exercises the powers delegated by the Commission of the European Communities.

PARTNERS

  • Federation Europeenne des Geologues – EFG – Paris, France (coordinator), represented by Mr. Manuel Regueiro – President;
  • European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC), Brussels, Belgium, represented by Mr. Burkhard Sanner
  • Osterreichisches Forschungs und Prufzentrum Arsenal GmBH (ARSENAL), Vienna, Austria, represented by Mr. Anton Plimon,
  • BRGM – Paris, France, represented by Mr. Christian Fouillac,
  • Consolidated Project Management Services Ltd. (GT SKILLS), Dublin, Ireland, represented by Mr. Gareth Jones, The
  • Romanian Geoexchange Society (RGS), Bucharest, Romania, represented by Mr. Alexandru Aposteanu,
  • Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (UPVLC), Valencia, Spain, represented by Mr. Juan Julia Igual,
  • Lunds Universitet (ULUND), Lund, Sweden, represented by Mr. Goran Nilsson,
  • University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UNEW), Newcastle upon Tyne, Great Britain, represented by Mr. Dermot Roddy.

DURATION / VALUE

The action was carried out for 30 months (1 Sept. 2008 – 28 Feb. 2011). The total value of the project was approx. 1 million Euro of which 75% – EU grant, and the rest provided by co-financing.

PROJECT PURPOSE

Carrying out activities for the action “Geo-Education for a sustainable geothermal heating and cooling market (GEOTRAINET)” – Geo-education for a sustainable geothermal heating and cooling market. The project consisted of 7 main activities: Identification of the necessary data in heating and cooling systems (HVAC) with geothermal heat pumps (GSHP); Assessment of the knowledge required by specialists in the design / drilling / installation of HVAC systems with GSHP; Creation of curricula for designers / drillers / installers; Creating training tools (presentations, manuals, electronic platform, tests; Identifying areas not covered by standards and norms; Proposing the framework of a unified European system for certification of specialists in the field of HVAC with GSHP; Launching training courses at European level.

GEOTRAINET COURSES

The Romanian Geoexchange Society contributed to the implementation of all project actions. The GEOTRAINET project carried out 3 types of courses: (a) courses for instructors (Sweden – June 2009 and Germany – Jan. 2010), (b) courses for drillers (Ireland – Sept. 2009 and France – Nov. 2009), (c) courses for designers (England – Apr. 2010 and Spain – July 2010) (d) courses for designers and drillers (Romania – Oct. 2010 and Belgium – Feb. 2011). At the Final Conference GEOTRAINET February 2011 – Brussels, the course for designers and drillers in Bucharest was designated as the best GEOTRAINET course. Across the courses, the participation of specialists from Romania was at the highest level, both in terms of quantity and quality. courses

Number of students in GEOTRAINET courses graph