Mondelez granted geothermal exploration permit in Bad Fallingbostel, Germany

Bürgerpark Dorfmark, Bad Fallingbostel, Niedersachsen, Germany (source: RogerWiki, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Carlo Cariaga 14 Mar 2024

The State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG) of Lower Saxony, Germany has granted Mondelez Deutschland Snacks Production GmbH & Co. KG. (Mondelez Germany) the permit to explore for geothermal energy in the Bad Fallingbostel field. Mondelez Germany also has a production facility in the town of Bad Fallingbostel in the Heidekreiz district.

The Bad Fallingbostel permit field has an area of around 100 square kilometers and extends around Bad Fallingbostel, touching parts of Dorfmark, as well as Walsrode and Osterheide. The permit the food company the fundamental right to carry out the inspection. However, actual exploration activities may only take place after approval of operating plans under mining law, for which, among other things, a separate participation procedure is necessary.

Mondelez Germany, part of the international food company Mondelez, sees opportunities in this field to implement deep geothermal projects for CO2-neutral heat generation.

The LBEG has so far issued 26 permits for the exploration of geothermal energy – 22 in Lower Saxony, three in Schleswig-Holstein and one in Hamburg. Some of these notable permit areas are the Ahnsbeck permit field in Celle which was awarded to Baker Hughes, and the Buchholz permit field in Hanover which was awarded to Eavor.

Mondelez Germany is not the first local unit of Mondelez International to explore the utilization of geothermal energy. Back in 2019, Mondelez Philippines signed a power offtake agreement with local geothermal developer and operator Energy Development Corporation (EDC). Under the agreement, EDC will supply 100% geothermal power to Mondelez from the Bacon-Manito Geothermal Project in the Bicol region.

Source: Kreiszeitung and LBEG