An investment made by Danish pension company Sampension has led to the creation of the European Union’s largest geothermal plant.

In the Danish city of Aarhus, the first drilling at the geothermal plant has just taken place. It was established by the company Innargi, which is owned by A.P. Møller Holding, ATP, the utility company NRGi and the Sampension community.

Sampension invested in Innargi, via the partnership with NRGi and NRGi Renewables in April 2022. The plant is expected to supply one-fifth of the heating supplied to residents in Aarhus by the end of 2030.

"At Sampension, we have a big focus on contributing to the green transition, which will require a future combination of a number of different technologies within sustainable energy. Here, geothermal technology has huge potential in terms of being able to contribute to green district heating in both Denmark and several European cities," Sampension head of properties and infrastructure, Torbjørn Lange, said.

Geothermy utilises the heat from below the earth’s surface to generate energy. In a geothermal plant, water is pumped underground, heated and transferred to the district heating network, after which the cooled water is pumped back down in a closed system.

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