“KAUST can serve as a much-needed testbed for geothermal energy in the Kingdom,” he said. “Like universities in Europe and the U.S., we’re well positioned to develop technology, de-risk projects, and demonstrate geothermal use on campus. The lessons learned here could help advance geothermal deployment across the country.” 

He added: “KAUST already has much of the expertise and technology in place — both in surface applications and subsurface science. We have the people and the knowledge. All that’s missing is the well-construction equipment and the funding.” 

Earth Day stakeholder event 

Geothermal energy holds strong appeal across government, industry, and academia for its clean, reliable potential. During the KAUST Sustainability Office’s recent Earth Day panel, representatives across sectors converged to discuss Saudi Arabia’s transition toward low-carbon energy efficiency. 

Joining Finkbeiner on stage from KAUST was Vahrenkamp, along with external stakeholders Meshary Al-Ayed, Managing Director and CEO of TAQA Geothermal; Jón Örn Jónsson, Geothermal Energy Manager, ENOWA/NEOM; Steve Lemoine, CEO of Dalkia Middle East; Abdulrahman Al-Shuhail, Chief Technologist of Geophysics at Aramco’s EXPEC Advanced Research Center; and Nouf Abdulghni, Principal Engineer, Saudi Ministry of Energy. 

Panelists addressed the many technical and operational challenges of geothermal development — from geophysical prospecting to deep drilling in unexplored subsurface terrain. They emphasized the need for reliable data to produce a national resource map, with KAUST’s shallow pilot well as a start to de-risking future projects and attracting investment. While the geothermal potential is great, said Finkbeiner, dedicated legislation is needed, with ministry efforts currently underway. 

“We had quite a mix of people, which emphasizes great interest from stakeholders in the Kingdom,” he added, emphasizing how Saudi Arabia’s geothermal progress still requires clear rules on ownership, distribution, and liability. Meanwhile, service companies such as Dalkia and TAQA continue forming alliances, while Aramco controls much of the subsurface data and activity. “It’s nice to see them engaged and being part of these conversations and discussions.” 

Another highlight, he noted, was the panelists’ agreement to keep advancing the topic after the event. “We have a plan to keep moving forward, and we may have created some momentum that could help accelerate development.” 

From concept to catalyst 

KAUST is positioning itself as a national catalyst for geothermal development, according to Finkbeiner — not just through research, but by demonstrating how geothermal energy can work in Saudi Arabia’s arid, coastal environments. 

“There’s always heat as you go deeper. We can use that heat. Whether it’s enough for electricity, I’m not sure. But that may not be the most important part. What matters: we can use whatever heat we find and use it directly for direct applications such as in a stepwise, cascaded temperature extraction fashion for desalination, district cooling, or/and supporting algae research by providing a constant temperature through the seasons to optimize growth.” 

Combining geothermal heat with carbon capture, utilization, and storage, for example, he said supercritical CO2 — which behaves like a liquid — that serves as a heat carrier. “One strategy to decarbonize the atmosphere is to capture CO2 and pump it into the subsurface. Once there, it naturally heats up because the Earth is hot. If you bring it back to the surface as a hot liquid, you can use it for geothermal purposes and then re-inject it after the heat is extracted.” 

All this illustrates the potential for a holistic, locally adapted energy system, he added. As for KAUST, Finkbeiner sees its role as not only developing and testing technologies, but also supporting development of new subsurface data-sharing frameworks — ultimately advancing key policies and partnerships to scale geothermal across the Kingdom.