Geothermal Energy Capacity Building in Egypt

Abstract

This paper presents the main objectives and expected outputs of the project Geothermal Energy Capacity Building in Egypt, funded by the European Union program Erasmus+, within the Key Action 2: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices (CBHE-JP - Capacity Building in higher education - Joint Projects). Five Egyptian universities (Cairo, Suez Canal, Ain Shams, Aswan and Egypt Japan University of Science and Technology), two Egyptian public bodies (New and Renewable Energy Authority and South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company), and three European universities (Bologna, Zagreb and Valladolid) are the partners in this project, which will extend from the beginning of 2021 to the beginning of 2024. The project aims to develop a higher educational engineering graduation diploma of geothermal energy in Egypt. The main objective of this diploma is supplying the national market with qualified engineers/graduates in the field of geothermal energy, with special attention to applications in cooling and heating processes, but not limited to that. The program will also include topics on geothermal power plants, project management, and monitoring systems with available technologies customized to the different applications of geothermal energy in the national circumstances. This project will provide the opportunity for building an engineering knowledge foundation, both theoretical and practical, for a future geothermal energy utilization in Egypt. The project expected outcomes include the first graduate diploma in Geothermal Energy, the first educational pilot plant, geothermal energy centers (i.e. qualified staff and laboratories at each Egyptian university) and the establishing of the Egyptian Society of Geothermal Energy. The graduate diploma is the seed that will germinate generations of knowledgeable and well-trained engineers/graduates who can supply the national demand. The educational pilot plant along with geothermal energy centers would be used in the practical training of the diploma graduates and dissemination of practical knowledge to local enterprises. Finally, the Egyptian Society of Geothermal Energy (which will be composed of qualified Egyptian partners’ staff) would represent a qualified engineering society, able to offer consultancy to universities, local enterprises and national decision makers.