From Ground Up: Briding Education and Industry in Iceland's Geothermal Transition

This article is based on a presentation delivered by Arnbjörn Ólafsson, Managing Director of GeoCamp Iceland, at the Petroleum Engineering Summer School (PESS2025) in Dubrovnik, Croatia in June 2025. The session explored how Iceland’s geothermal energy system serves as a platform not only for technical excellence but also for education, community development, and international collaboration. By examining case studies from Iceland and partner countries, the lecture positioned geothermal innovation as both an energy solution and an educational opportunity.

Place-Based Learning in a Volcanic Landscape: The Role of GeoCamp Iceland

GeoCamp Iceland is an educational and research platform based on the Reykjanes Peninsula, a region shaped by active volcanoes, geothermal fields, and coastal ecosystems. Originally founded to spark student interest in Earth sciences, GeoCamp Iceland has grown into an international hub for field-based learning focused on sustainability, renewable energy, and climate education. Each year, the programme hosts students and teachers from across the world, connecting them with Iceland’s dynamic environment through immersive, hands-on experiences.

The mission of GeoCamp Iceland is to make science real, local, and transformative. Rather than confining learning to the classroom, we bring participants into lava fields, geothermal zones, and glacial landscapes, inviting them to observe, measure, question, and collaborate. Working in partnership with the Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark, schools, energy providers, and research institutions, we design learning experiences that merge scientific literacy with ecological awareness, and that ground global challenges, such as energy transition and climate resilience, in lived experience.

Geothermal Energy as a Societal Driver

Iceland’s geothermal journey spans centuries, from traditional use of hot springs for bathing and washing to modern district heating systems and advanced geothermal power plants. Today, geothermal energy accounts for approximately two-thirds of Iceland’s total primary energy use, with 90% of households heated by geothermal systems. The transition was gradual but deliberate, driven by public investment, scientific research, and coordinated policy.

Beyond infrastructure, geothermal energy in Iceland is deeply embedded in cultural and social life. Historical sources, including the Icelandic sagas, record geothermal bathing as a healing and communal practice. This historical continuity reflects a broader principle: geothermal energy in Iceland is not only a technical solution but a culturally rooted and community-valued resource.

​Innovation and Circular Energy Systems

Technological innovation remains central to Iceland’s geothermal narrative. The Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) explores supercritical geothermal resources at depths over 4.500 metres, aiming to produce up to ten times more energy per well than conventional methods. The Reykjanes Resource Park exemplifies cascading use of geothermal energy, supporting algae production, aquaculture, spa development, and greenhouse farming from a single energy source.

Moreover, Iceland is a leader in carbon mineralisation. The Carbfix project, operating at the Hellisheiði power plant, captures CO₂, dissolves it in water, and injects it into basalt formations, where it mineralises into rock within two years. This process has global implications for climate mitigation and is now being scaled to receive carbon emissions from across Europe.

Education and the Energy Transition

A key theme of the PESS2025 presentation was the role of education in the energy transition. In Iceland, the renewable energy sector serves as an experiential classroom. Through outdoor learning, interdisciplinary curricula, and field-based science, students and educators explore renewable energy not simply as content, but as context.

Initiatives led by institutions like GeoCamp Iceland and the Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark exemplify this approach. Students participate in hands-on data collection, geothermal mapping, and sensor-based monitoring in active geothermal areas. These activities foster systems thinking and empower young people to view themselves as part of the energy landscape — not just as observers, but as contributors.

In an example from Hvolsskóli Primary School in South of Iceland, students document climate change through glacial retreat, biodiversity shifts, and geothermal fieldwork, drawing direct connections between scientific observation and global sustainability goals. Regional development projects such as GeoLab and Green STEAM further integrate place-based learning with tools for data collection, analysis, and public engagement, making climate and energy education accessible across socioeconomic and geographic boundaries.

International Cooperation and EEA Partnerships

The presentation also highlighted Iceland’s role in international cooperation, particularly through EEA and Norway Grants. Since 2021, Icelandic partners have supported geothermal and STEM education projects in Croatia, including the Izvori Lipika geothermal initiative. This project involved the development of technical documentation for a district heating system, along with bilateral exchanges between Icelandic and Croatian experts.

Educational collaborations between Iceland and Croatian schools have also flourished. EEA-funded projects in Sibinj, Đakovo, Lipovljani, and Budinščina demonstrate how hands-on science education can be tailored to local environments while drawing on Icelandic methods. Teacher mobilities, curriculum development, and environmental monitoring have become vehicles for mutual learning and long-term capacity building.

These initiatives represent more than knowledge transfer; they are platforms for co-creation. Icelandic experience is not exported as a fixed model but adapted to regional contexts, enabling innovation that is both rooted and scalable.

Geoparks as Learning Environments

The Reykjanes UNESCO Global Geopark provides a powerful example of how geological landscapes can serve as platforms for education, research, and resilience. Located on the tectonic boundary between North America and Eurasia, Reykjanes is a dynamic region shaped by volcanic activity, geothermal resources, and coastal change.

As an open-air classroom, the Geopark integrates geoscience, energy production, and cultural heritage. Students and educators engage with live phenomena — including recent eruptions at Fagradalsfjall — and learn about risk, adaptation, and sustainability in real time. The Geopark’s educational mission is strengthened through its collaboration with local schools, energy companies, and municipalities, forming a regional ecosystem of learning.

Regional educational and development projects furthermore align with both global frameworks (e.g. SDGs, UNESCO ASPnet) and local development priorities. These initiatives demonstrate how education can be used to ground climate literacy in lived experience.

Regional Innovation through Place-Based Education

As part of its development strategy, GeoCamp Iceland is building a regional ecosystem of place-based learning, youth engagement, and professional development rooted in the dynamic landscape of Reykjanes. Key initiatives include the UNESCO School Network, which unites all schools on the peninsula under the ASPnet framework to explore sustainability, citizenship, and global learning through local heritage and science.
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The Ripples of Knowledge project supports outdoor education by creating digital infrastructure and mobile teaching tools for schools near volcanic zones, ensuring both safety and continuity in learning. STEAM Reykjanes proposes the establishment of regional education and innovation centres that link local schools with the energy sector and research institutions, preparing youth for the green transition.

​These efforts are complemented by Green STEAM, a newly approved transnational Erasmus+ project involving partners across Europe. The project equips teachers to lead field-based science education focused on environmental sensors, student-led research, and the creation of open-source learning materials—bringing climate literacy and systems thinking into the heart of everyday education.

Conclusion: A Curriculum of Transition

The Icelandic experience suggests that energy transitions require more than infrastructure — they require education, cooperation, and cultural engagement. As demonstrated at PESS2025, geothermal energy in Iceland is not only a source of power but a catalyst for curriculum development, youth empowerment, and international collaboration.

What emerges is a vision of education as a driver of change — not simply delivering knowledge about sustainability, but enabling communities to live it. In this model, the energy beneath our feet becomes a shared resource for learning, innovation, and resilience. Classrooms extend into lava fields and wetlands; students become observers of glacial retreat and volcanic renewal; and teachers are equipped not only to inform, but to inspire.

Whether through regional development projects in Reykjanes or cross-border partnerships in Croatia and beyond, the emphasis remains clear: sustainability is not a subject—it is a practice. And at the heart of that practice lies a simple truth: Understanding the Earth we stand on is a prerequisite for changing the Earth we live on.

​When learning is grounded in place, powered by cooperation, and shared across generations, it becomes one of the most powerful forces for shaping a just and regenerative future.

Arnbjörn Ólafsson, Managing Director of GeoCamp Iceland
​with lecturers and students at PESS2025 in Dubrovnik, 16 June 2025