Iceland was one of the first countries to move to 100% renewable electricity, in part because it was able to tap into geothermal energy from its unique volcano-filled geology. In many other places, that energy isn’t as readily available. But new technology could make geothermal power accessible anywhere—and the company is aiming for one specific use case: putting the geothermal wells at power plants that currently run on fossil fuels.
Quaise Energy, a startup that just raised a $40 million Series A funding round led by Safar Partners, uses “millimeter wave” drilling systems to go as far as 12 miles underground—that’s 3 to 5 times deeper than typical oil and gas drilling—reaching a layer of rock which is more than 700 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat can be used as a constant power source essentially anywhere on the planet.
“When we think about the scale of the energy transition, we measure that in terawatts—trillions of watts—that’s what it takes to cover the world,” says Carlos Araque, CEO and co-founder of Quaise Energy. “So when you look at that scale, it is very evident that we’re not going to be able to transition energy on wind and solar alone.”
Both wind and solar are intermittent sources of energy, meaning that they aren’t always available (the sun obviously doesn’t always shine), and storing that renewable energy in batteries is still fairly expensive. Wind and solar also take up quite a bit of land. If geothermal power can be affordable anywhere, it could help fill an important gap in getting to 100% renewable electricity.
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