Startup Quaise Energy has raised $134 million to advance its first superhot geothermal power plant in central Oregon.
On Tuesday, the Houston-based company announced the first tranche of its Series B financing round, which brings the firm’s total funding to $230 million. Quaise is developing a 50-megawatt plant near the Newberry Volcano that will use novel rock-melting technology to tap into significantly hotter geothermal resources than conventional plants can.
The fundraise comes as Quaise prepares to start drilling its first test well later this month for the Oregon plant, called Project Obsidian, which is slated to come online by 2030.
“Our ambition is to power civilization with Earth’s most compelling energy source,” Carlos Araque, CEO and president of Quaise, said in a statement. “This round takes us from field-proven technology to first commercial revenues.”
The Series B was led by Prelude Ventures, which backs early-stage climatetech firms, and included strategic investments from two major Japanese energy players: the power generation company JERA and the petroleum refiner Idemitsu Kosan. Japan is increasingly investing in cutting-edge geothermal projects to help meet the land-constrained nation’s need for clean, around-the-clock power — and to harness the potential of its 111 active volcanoes.
In the United States, the geothermal industry is experiencing a renaissance as new technologies make the energy resource viable in a wider range of geographies. Soaring power demand from data centers is fueling much of that interest, as are state renewable-energy targets and the electrification of vehicles and buildings.
In May, the startup Fervo Energy became the first next-generation geothermal firm to go public, netting about $1.9 billion. The company focuses on enhanced geothermal systems, an emerging approach that involves fracturing rocks and pumping them full of water to create artificial reservoirs. Fervo is developing a large-scale enhanced geothermal plant in Utah that is set to start sending power to the grid later this year.
