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US President Donald Trump has made the case for local, home grown energy resources stronger than ever before as his battle over the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane rages on. Wind and solar fit the bill, of course, but the President doesn’t believe in them. What he does believe in is geothermal energy, and his wishes are on track to come true as new, more sophisticated drilling technologies emerge. The latest development is a case in point, involving the leading Japanese energy firm JERA and the US geothermal startup Quaise Energy.
Yes It’s True, Trump Loves Geothermal Energy
The President swept into office for the second time on a promise to bring back coal jobs and pump more oil and gas out of the ground, but take a look at the President’s “American Energy Dominance” plan and you’ll see geothermal energy sharing the love alongside fossil fuels and nuclear.
As for how geothermal energy sneaked itself into a fossil-friendly energy policy, the answer is fairly straightforward. Geothermal provides baseload, 24/7 power generation regardless of the weather, season, or time of day, thus meeting the baseload “reliability” standard promoted by Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
All else being equal, geothermal can compete directly against fossil fuels for power generation. However, in the US, there actually is no competition between geothermal and other resources, at least not much to speak of. Technology and financial limitations have confined geothermal power plants to just a handful of scattered locations in the US, all of them west of the Rocky Mountains.
More Geothermal Energy For The US…
On the face of it, Trump didn’t really expect much from the US geothermal industry. For that matter, his energy plan also embraces biomass and hydropower, two other resources with limited prospects for near-term growth.
Still, new drilling and exploration technologies have transformed the domestic geothermal industry in recent years, with substantial support from the US Department of Energy alongside the US Air Force and other interested parties.
Instead of waiting for the ideal combination of heat, rock, and water to materialize close to the surface, geothermal innovators are creating their own underground reservoirs or drilling deeper (or both), to extend the reach of geothermal energy far beyond its current boundaries.
That’s where Quaise comes in. The startup surfaced on the CleanTechnica radar in February of 2025, after raising $21 million in Series A1 funding to support a new, high temperature geothermal system that can be applied in many more locations than possible with legacy technology, while also turbo-boosting power output on the same footprint. According to Quaise, its technology can deliver 10 to 100 times more power.
Quaise also introduced a plan for speeding up the geothermal development timeline. By staking out ground on existing power plants, the company can make use of existing transmission infrastructure and other local resources. The strategy could also help tighten up the timeline for permitting.
“By drilling onsite at thermal generation plants and industrial centers to utilize the existing infrastructure and workforce, a faster energy transition becomes possible,” Quaise emphasized.
…And Japan, Too
Quaise has not let the geothermal grass grow under its feet. In March of this year, the company raised another $13 million from private sector investors, and it was included in a group of geothermal innovators pre-qualified to bid on Air Force contracts.
The Air Force angle is particularly interesting because USAF was among the early adopters to push the envelop on solar power in the early 2000’s, back when the cost of solar was not competitive with fossil fuels. USAF appears determined to occupy an early adopter spot in the geothermal industry, too, positioning itself to support a similarly rapid pathway to widespread commercial applications.
In the latest development, JERA has announced a strategic investment in Quaise through its JERA Ventures branch, with the specific aim of supporting Quaise’s forthcoming Project Obsidian geothermal power plant in Oregon.
“The companies will also explore potential opportunities related to the future commercialization and deployment of the technology in Japan,” JERA notes.
“Because such high-temperature resources exist deep underground in most regions of the world, the technology has the potential to significantly expand where geothermal power can be developed, supporting clean, reliable baseload electricity production worldwide, including Japan, which has one of the world’s largest untapped geothermal resources,” the company elaborates.
Follow The Money
JERA was just one of several A-list investors to participate in the Series B raise, which totaled $134 million. “The round was led by Prelude Ventures, with strategic investments from JERA and Idemitsu, two of Japan’s largest energy companies. Nearly all existing investors, including Safar Partners, participated in the round,” Quaise reported last week.
As a US-based technology venture fund, Safar Partners is worth a special mention. Among other renewable energy investments, the company’s extensive portfolio includes another spinoff from MIT, the solar startup 24/7Solar. The firm also participated in the $21 million raise last year,
Referring to the new round of funding, Parinaz Motamedy, a Partner at the firm, points out that Safar Partners began working with Quaise early on, further noting that the latest round of funding “represents an important inflection point as the company transitions from scientific breakthroughs to commercial deployments.”
Project Obsidian Beats Natural Gas
The innovative geothermal industry of today covers a wide range of technologies. Quaise’s contribution to the field is a high-power microwave drilling system called millimeter wave drilling, first developed at MIT. Millimeter wave drilling shape-shifts its way through rock to reach into deep, super hot 300°-500°C (572°-932°F) geothermal resources.
“Ablation” is the technical term for the process. Unlike conventional drilling, millimeter wave drilling does not make contact with rock.
Project Obsidian follows the successful demonstration of Quaise’s system in Texas last year. If all goes according to plan, the first phase will deliver 50 megawatts, leading up to more than 1 gigawatt when fully built out, with completion estimated in 2030.
That’s…interesting! If all goes according to plan, Project Obsidian will be commissioned years ahead of the numerous natural gas power plants currently in the planning stages. A bottleneck in the gas turbine supply chain is among the factors gumming up the works. Nuclear energy also faces headwinds against rapid expansion, and coal…well, dream on, Klingon.
Still, it’s tough to beat wind and solar for a quick construction-to-commission timeline. While Quaise is poised to accomplish a quick turnaround, that’s just one stakeholder at work. In contrast, the US wind and solar industries are fully mature and amply populated.
The global firm Lazard is the latest to run the numbers and determine that solar, in particular, is the fastest and most economical way to feed a hungry grid, even taking the cost of energy storage into account.
Too bad the President believes otherwise, but facts are facts…
Image: Opportunities to develop more geothermal energy in the US are growing alongside the introduction of new, more sophisticated drilling and exploration technologies (cropped, courtesy of Quaise Energy via JERA).
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