Key Takeaways
- Quaise Energy has closed the first tranche of its Series B financing, raising $134 million, led by Prelude Ventures with strategic investment from JERA and Idemitsu.
- The round brings Quaise's total funding to date to $230 million, with additional equity and debt capital expected to close soon.
- Proceeds will fund Project Obsidian, described as the world's first commercial superhot geothermal power plant, sited on federal geothermal leases in Oregon's Deschutes National Forest.
- Quaise's millimeter wave drilling system, developed at MIT, has drilled more than 100 meters through granite at its Central Texas site and is now approaching one kilometer of depth.
- Project Obsidian has gigawatt-scale potential and is expected to deliver its first electrons to the grid by 2030.
Quaise Energy Closes $134 Million Series B Financing
Quaise Energy, a developer of utility-scale superhot geothermal energy, announced the first close of its Series B financing, raising $134 million, with additional equity and debt capital expected to close soon. The round was led by Prelude Ventures, with strategic investment from JERA and Idemitsu, two of Japan's largest energy companies. Nearly all existing investors, including Safar Partners, took part in the round, bringing Quaise's total funding raised to date to $230 million.
Proceeds from the round will fund Project Obsidian, described as the world's first commercial superhot geothermal power plant, along with continued development of Quaise's millimeter wave drilling system toward depths beyond 5 kilometers. Project-level equity and debt financing is being raised at the same time as the company works toward first revenues from commercial off-take partners that have not yet been disclosed.
“Our ambition is to power civilization with Earth's most compelling energy source. This round takes us from field-proven technology to first commercial revenues,” said Carlos Araque, CEO and President of Quaise Energy.
Backers Include Prelude Ventures, JERA, and Idemitsu
“We have backed Quaise since the beginning because we believed accessing superhot rock would unlock geothermal energy at a scale the world has never seen,” said Mark Cupta, Managing Director at Prelude Ventures. He added that the company's field results and progress on Project Obsidian support continued backing as it moves from proving the technology to supplying power to the grid.
“Millimeter wave drilling technology has the potential to make geothermal a truly global baseload resource,” said Takeshi Kodama, Head of JERA Ventures and Managing Partner, JERA Co., Inc. “We look forward to working together with Quaise to advance the development of this promising technology and business.”
Quaise Energy's Millimeter Wave Drilling Technology
Quaise uses a millimeter wave drilling system developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to ablate rock at depths and temperatures that conventional drilling cannot economically reach. The company says the technology can access rock at temperatures of 300 to 500 degrees Celsius in most places worldwide, a capability it says allows for geothermal systems that can match fossil and nuclear power in energy density and compete with renewables on cost.
Field Results in Central Texas
Quaise has tested its millimeter wave drilling system at its Central Texas field site, drilling more than 100 meters through granite in 2025, the first time the technology penetrated basement rock at full scale under field conditions. The company is now approaching one kilometer of depth at the same site, a milestone it says would mark the deepest penetration achieved with millimeter wave drilling and the deepest ever recorded by any non-contact drilling method.
Project Obsidian in Oregon
Project Obsidian is under construction on federal geothermal leases in the Deschutes National Forest in Oregon, one of the most studied geothermal locations in the United States. The project has gigawatt-scale potential and is expected to deliver its first electrons to the grid by 2030, supporting grid stability across the Pacific Northwest as the region faces rising power demand and limited transmission capacity.
