High-profile visit at Geothermie Delft: European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra, visited Geothermi Delft at the TU Delft to see first-hand how students are contributing to the energy transition through research and innovation. Naturally, a tour of Geothermie Delft was also on the agenda!
Sustainable Heat
Hoekstra saw with his own eyes how research and practice come together in the municipality of Delft: since February 2026, Geothermie Delft has already been delivering sustainable heat extracted from local soil to buildings and student accommodation on the TU Delft Campus. Over the coming years, thousands of homes in Delft's Voorhof and Buitenhof districts will also be connected to this sustainable heating network, which has drastically reduced gas consumption by more than 90%!
At the same time, researchers from TU Delft are working on further improving the heating system. Professor Phil Vardon and Martin Bloemendal from TU Delft, together with colleagues and students, demonstrated to Hoekstra how research into areas such as production, storage, materials, and system optimization is directly linked to daily practice.
In this way, Delft not only provides sustainable heat for the city, but also valuable knowledge and experience for the further development of geothermal energy and sustainable heating systems. It is fantastic to see this story gaining recognition at the European level as well.
Photo: TU Delft / Robèrt Kroonen
