Presenter Bios

KEYNOTE

Martina Lyons

Energy Analyst, Renewable Energy Division, International Energy Agency

Title: IEA Report: The Future of Geothermal Energy – Key Takeaways

BIO: Martina Lyons joined the IEA's Renewable Energy Division in October 2023 as an energy analyst focusing on decarbonisation of industrial processes, geothermal and related topics. Before joining the IEA, she spent nearly five years at IRENA as a Programme Officer, working on end-use sector decarbonization, critical materials, and engagement with Mission Innovation. Prior to that, she served for six years at the European Commission as a Policy Officer, developing international energy strategies, Horizon programmes, and Mission Innovation. She began her career in consultancy roles in Brussels and Prague. Martina holds a Master's degree in Corporate Law and Company Finance from the University of Economics in Prague (Czechia) and a Master's in Environmental Management from SOAS University of London (UK).

Taras Popadynets

Executive Director, NGO Geothermal Ukraine

Title: Geothermal Energy in Ukraine: Current status, future potential, and strategic plans

BIO: Taras professional background mainly includes the roles of drilling and well engineering positions of conventional and unconventional O&G exploration and production campaigns. Since 2017 he has served as an officer in Ivano-Frankivsk/Central Ukraine SPE Professional Section, being responsible for International relations. His professional career includes working locally and internationally at such companies as: Weatherford, ENI HQ, UGV (Nafrogaz of Ukraine), Corva AI, Baker Hughes.

In April 2022 he co-founded the NGO Geothermal Ukraine (GU), a non-profit organization and was elected as a Head of the Board of the organization. The main area of activity is the geoenergy promotion and advocating, policy development, R&D activities and feasibility study for shallow and deep geothermal energy projects application, underground thermal energy storage, critical raw materials extraction potential as well as oil and gas legacy inventory repurposing potential evaluation to geothermal for running pilot projects. Currently, GU possesses a project portfolio from Horizon Europe programme and other European governmental funded projects (Iceland, Netherlands).

In addition, GU initiated and prepared in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine the "Geothermal Energy Development Plan till 2030" in line with the "National Energy and Climate Plan in Ukraine till 2030".

In 2013, Taras Popadynets graduated from the Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas with a MSc degree in Petroleum Engineering. In 2020, he graduated with a MSc degree from the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU LvBS), specializing in Management, program of Innovations. Since 2022 he is also a graduate student (Ph.D. program) at the Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas, Program of Petroleum Engineering and Technology with a research topic of "Technology enhancement for repurposing plugged and dry oil and gas wells to geothermal heat extraction".

Fredrik Skaug Fadnes

Energy & Environmental Technology Specialist

Title: Energisentral ved UiS – termisk reservoar med varmegjenvinning, brønner og uteluft: forskningsinfrastruktur og driftserfaringer

BIO: Fredrik Skaug Fadnes er fagspesialist i avdeling Energi og smartteknologi i Norconsult. Han har spesialisert seg på energisentraler, væske-vann-varmepumper og systemer for samtidig produksjon av varme og kjøling. Fredrik er utdannet sivilingeniør (MSc) i energi og miljø fra NTNU (2011), med fordypning i varme- og energiprosesser. I 2025 fullførte han en PhD i energisystemer ved Universitetet i Stavanger. Doktorgradsarbeidet, finansiert av Norconsult og Norges forskningsråd gjennom nærings-ph.d.-programmet, kombinerte forskning på bruk av kunstig intelligens for optimalisering av energisystemer med praktisk oppfølging av forskningsinfrastruktur i forbindelse med etableringen av en større energisentral på campus Ullandhaug i Stavanger.

Øystein Andersson Klemetsdal

Research Scientist, SINTEF Digital, Oslo

Title: Digital twinning of underground thermal energy storage systems

BIO: Øystein Klemetsdal is a research scientist in the Applied Computational Sciences group at SINTEF Digital. His work lies at the intersection of mathematics, computer science, and geoscience, with a particular focus on developing advanced numerical simulation technologies. Øystein is a core developer of both the MATLAB Reservoir Simulation Toolbox (MRST) and JutulDarcy, contributing especially to simulation tools for geothermal energy applications.

He holds an MSc in Industrial Mathematics and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). During his doctoral studies, he was a visiting student researcher at the Institute of Energy Science & Engineering at Stanford University.

Hans de Beer

Spesialrådgiver ved Norges geologiske undersøkelse (NGU), Trondheim, Norge

Title: Bergvarme i setningssensitive områder; om ansvar, overvåking og risikoreduserende tiltak.

BIO: Hans de Beer (54) has worked at the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) for over 20 years. He holds an MSc in Hydrogeology (1994) and a PhD in geoarchaeology (2019), focusing on groundwater and subsidence at Bryggen in Bergen. Throughout his career, he has worked extensively on groundwater and subsidence-related issues, including those associated with the installation of geothermal energy systems. Currently, he serves as a SpecialAdvisor at NGU and is Norway's national delegate to EuroGeoSurveys (EGS). His daily work includes strategic advising to NGU's executive management and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries (NFD) regarding NGU's geoscientific priorities and deliverables. He is involved in the operation and further development of national geological databases, including the National Groundwater Database (GRANADA) and the National Database for Geotechnical Investigations (NADAG), which are key components of NGU's mission.

Karoline Husevåg Kvalsvik

Forskar i NORCE, Bergen, Norge

Title: How can a GeoTermos be ecenomically utilized in a district heating grid with multivariable uncertainty?

BIO: Karoline Husevåg Kvalsvik har jobba 10 år som forskar innan miljøvennleg termisk energi og dei siste syv med geoenergi og geotermisk lagring. Grunnvatn, grunnvasseffektar, termisk leiingsevne og GeoTermosen har vore tema for modellering og publikasjonar.

Denis Voskov

Chair of Reservoir Simulation Section, TU Delft, Delft, NL

Title: Uncertainty reduction in geothermal projects based on diverse data and observations

BIO: Dr. Denis Voskov is Chair of the Reservoir Engineering Section at the Department of Geoscience and Engineering, TU Delft, and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Energy, Science and Engineering, Stanford University. He is leading a research group on the development of advanced simulation capability for energy production and storage processes related to the deep subsurface. His previous positions include senior researcher at Stanford University, founder and CTO of Rock Flow Dynamics (t.Navigator platform), chief engineer at YUKOS EP company, and a leading specialist at the Institute for Problems in Mechanics, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Eivind Bastesen

Geolog, Ruden Energy

Title: HEAT™ technology - experience from the development and first storage season of the fracture thermal energy storage (FTES) at Kvitebjørn district heat system in Tromsø

BIO: Dr. Eivind Bastesen er strukturgeolog med PhD fra Universitetet i Bergen (2010) på hydrauliske egenskaper i forkastningssoner. Han har lang erfaring fra forskning på strømningsegenskaper i sprekker og forkastninger, og har de senere årene jobbet særlig med geotermisk energi og utvikling av nye lagringskonsepter i fast fjell. Bastesen har ledet og deltatt i en rekke nasjonale og europeiske forskningsprosjekter og industriprosjekter. Han har også forsket på marin plastforurensning, undervist ved Universitetet i Bergen og publisert over 20 vitenskapelige artikler

Tor Sveine

Teknisk sjef Nordisk Energikontroll AS

Title: Bergvarme – eksempler på gode anlegg som er i drift. Smarte energisentraler med dynamisk brønnpark kan gi bedre anlegg og lavere totalkostnader

BIO: Tor Sveine er sivilingeniør og er teknisk sjef i Nordisk Energikontroll AS.

Jan Thomas Birkeland

Daglig leder

Title: Kolbotn IL sitt GeoTermos-anlegg – driftserfaringer

BIO: Kommer opprinnelig fra Telekom-bransjen, men har også 18 års erfaring som idrettsleder. De siste tre årene som daglig leder i Kolbotn IL Allianse. Har vært involvert i anleggsdrift store deler av tiden. Kommunestyrepolitiker i Nordre Follo kommune

Fabricio Cesário

Managing Director of Eavor Erdwärme Geretsried GmbH & Co

Title: Eavor-Loop, enabling local energy autonomy everywhere

BIO: Fabrício Cesário is currently Managing Director of Eavor Erdwärme Geretsried GmbH & Co. KG and Head of Project Delivery and Operations at Eavor GmbH, where he leads Europe's first commercial closed-loop geothermal project. With more than 30 years of international leadership in the energy and industrial sectors, including senior roles at ThyssenKrupp in Germany and Brazil, he has driven large-scale investments, sustainability initiatives, hydrogen-based transformation and CO2 avoidance programs. His career highlights include leading multi-billion-euro investments, driving operational excellence, and implementing transformative strategies across energy, utilities, and steel production. Fluent in Portuguese, English, and German, Fabrício is recognized for his expertise in renewable energy, industrial operations, and sustainable transformation.

Christian Rekve Bryn

Hydrogeolog, COWI

Title: Groundwater source heat pump systems for local, green and competitive food production

BIO: Utdannet hydrogeolog, og tar for tiden en næringslivsdoktorgrad om kartlegging og bruk av lokale geologiske ressurser i bærekraftig utvikling, med spesielt fokus på grunnvannsbasert grunnvarme

Nils Hanstad

Avdelingsleder Båsum Boring AS

Title: Utslippsfrie byggeplasser med brønnpark.

BIO: TBA