Quaise Energy Raises $134M Series B for Superhot Geothermal
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Quaise Energy, a company based in Houston, Texas, has raised $134 million in the first close of its Series B to build what it describes as the world’s first commercial superhot geothermal power plant. Prelude Ventures led the round, with strategic investments from Japanese energy companies JERA and Idemitsu, bringing the total raised to $230 million.
A spinout of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Quaise uses a millimeter wave drilling system to reach rock at depths and temperatures beyond conventional drilling, targeting 300 to 500 degrees Celsius in most locations. The capital will fund Project Obsidian, its first plant, planned for central Oregon near the Newberry Volcano, and continue development of its drilling system toward depths beyond 5 kilometers.
The company says the approach could rival fossil and nuclear power in density while competing with renewables on cost.