Hungary boasts the EU's largest geothermal system

The fight against climate change is gaining momentum in Hungary. The European Union's largest geothermal system is powering residential and commercial buildings in Szeged, 160 kilometres from Budapest.

Geothermal energy has been used for centuries however this renewable energy resource is gaining renewed attention as a sustainable solution for electricity generation, heating, and cooling applications. 

Szeged launched the project after the local district heating provider suggested that geothermal energy could replace the town's old gas-powered system dating back to the early 1980s.

"The idea is to reduce gas use by around 50 per cent," said Tamas Medgyes, the Chief Operations Manager at the District Heating Company of Szeged.

Medgyes gave Euronews a tour of the facility. With its network of 27 wells, 16 heating plants, and 250 kilometres of distribution pipes, the new system exploits thermal energy underground and converts it into warm air.

"Szeged gets quite bad air in the winter time. The largest CO2 emitter in the city is the district heating system. This company has operated on natural gas for 40 years. In the last two or three years we have been switching this gas-based system to geothermal," Medgyes added.

Geothermal energy is generated from the heat at the Earth's core and is stored in the mantle or the Earth's middle layer. The temperature difference between the Earth's core and surface drives a continuous flow of thermal energy from the centre to the Earth's crust. 

The Earth's crust contains solid rocks, minerals and water, heated to approximately 370°C. To avail of hot geothermal water, engineers must drill holes, sometimes several kilometres deep.

"Geothermal water is a special type of water which is heated by the