After last year's successful congress with around 600 participants, the Geothermal Congress (DGK) 2026 will take place from October 20 to 22 at Kogresshotel Potsdam. The German Geothermal Energy Association (BVG) is inviting submissions with the official Call for Papers, marking the start of the hot phase of preparations.
The DGK is the central industry meeting point for everyone engaged in geothermal energy from a scientific, economic, or political perspective.
The Kongresshotel Potsdam provides the ideal setting for Germany’s leading geothermal congress, offering versatile event spaces, professional conference infrastructure, and an attractive lakeside location on Lake Templin. The combination of modern congress facilities, generous capacities, and a focused environment creates optimal conditions for high-level exchange, networking, and professional dialogue.
Thematic focus:
The range of topics is once again impressive this year. The lectures and presentations will be devoted to the following areas, among others:
Deep and Medium-Depth Geothermal (e.g. exploration, drilling technology, seismology, reservoir management, system integration)
Near-Surface Geothermal (e.g. post-mining use, cold grids, district solutions, operational planning and optimization)
Heat and Cold Storage (e.g. high temperature storage, ATES)
Energy and Research Policy (e.g. municipal heat planning, approval practice, financing and funding programs)
Submissions of a paper and promotion of young scientists:
With the Call for Papers, the German Geothermal Association invites all interested parties to present their current research results at the DGK 2026. Abstracts can be submitted until May 31, 2026.
Young scientists are also invited to take part in the Science Bar. The Science Bar poster competition offers the opportunity to present bachelor's, master's or doctoral theses to a specialist audience. The best presentation will be awarded the Young Scientist Prize. The long versions of the papers can be submitted from September - ideally by shortly before the start of the congress. Each contribution will receive a DOI number via Zenodo. Presentations can also be published in the digital conference proceedings.
Further information and the possibility of submission can be found at:
www.der-geothermiekongress.de/en/program/call-for-papers
For questions regarding submissions, please contact the organization team at dgk@geothermie.de
From 18 to 20 November 2025, the geothermal industry gathered for this year’s Geothermal Congress (DGK) at the House of Logistics and Mobility (HOLM) in Frankfurt am Main. Around 590 participants – once again more than in the previous year – used Germany’s largest industry meeting to discuss current developments, research findings, and strategies for expanding geothermal energy.
We organised the congress together with Fraunhofer IEG, the Hessen State Energy Agency (LEA), and the partner country United Kingdom. The political significance of geothermal energy was evident in the fact that Hessen is taking a pioneering role with new initiatives such as the simplification of legal framework conditions.
In her opening speech, BVG President Dr Karin Thelen emphasised the growing momentum of the industry and the importance of geothermal energy for climate protection, energy sovereignty, and value creation in Germany. In his keynote, Prof Dr Rolf Bracke (Fraunhofer IEG) outlined the necessary steps to industrialise geothermal energy – from scaling drilling capacities to accelerating approval processes.
With around 280 presentations from 18 countries, this year’s programme was particularly international. The United Kingdom, as partner country, presented itself with its own workshop and insights centred around the newly founded National Geothermal Centre.
As every year, outstanding achievements were honoured:
Prof Dr Simona Regenspurg received the Patricius Medal for her wide-ranging scientific contributions and her commitment to networking within the geothermal community.
Dr Hesam Soltan Mohammadi was recognised as Young Scientist of the Year.
A special award was presented to Dr André Deinhardt for his long-standing efforts to strengthen the political standing of geothermal energy.
The poster prize was awarded to Helen Krauß (TU Darmstadt) for her experimental work on the thermal properties of bedding materials.
Next year, the DGK will return to Potsdam and will take place from 20 to 22 October 2026 at the Kongresshotel Potsdam.
We extend our sincere thanks to all partners, sponsors, speakers, and participants for an exceptionally successful Geothermal Congress 2025!
