The geothermal project pilots a new, nearly emission-free energy solution for large real estate, producing as much as 40 times the heat energy of traditional geothermal heating.

The deep geothermal well developed by QHeat is a medium-depth geothermal, drilled approximately 2km deep, can heat and cool large real estate areas or regional grids with near-zero emissions. The solution enables emission-free geothermal heating in growing urban areas as well, as it is well suited to dense housing areas and groundwater areas.

The pilot is being carried out at the NREP Logicenters' logistics property in Espoo, and it is estimated to reduce the property's CO2 emissions by as much as 90 per cent. The project is set to be completed by the end of November.

"By piloting new solutions, such as QHeat's deep geothermal heat, and by scaling them into wider operating models, we are actively introducing new ways to reduce the environmental impacts of real estate in the industry. We are also continuously exploring possibilities to improve energy efficiency and increase the use of renewable energy in our properties. We are committed to reducing the climate emissions of real estate and to promoting energy efficiency because real estate and construction produce approximately a third of Finland's carbon footprint," said Jani Nokkanen, partner at NREP.

Finland's goal is to reduce emissions by at least 39 per cent from the 2005 level by the year 2030. With deep geothermal heat, emissions from real estate heating can be reduced by as much as 95 per cent compared to fossil fuels. If solutions such as deep geothermal heat can be scaled to even five per cent of Finland's real estate stock, it would mean a reduction of half a million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, or four per cent of Finland's emission target, according to QHeat's calculations.

"A clean future lies beneath our feet. With deep geothermal heat, we can make good use of the warm summer months, because during the summer, we can store waste energy from cooling into the ground and then use it for heating in the winter. Deep geothermal energy has significant export potential as a solution that can mitigate climate change by reducing the emissions from heating and cooling on a global scale," said Miska Eriksson, CEO of QHeat.