Quaise Energy

Last month, we reached another milestone on our path to superhot #geothermal power: demonstrating millimeter wave #drilling outside of the lab for the very first time. To put that in perspective, it was only three years ago that our team started testing with millimeter waves. We took those early learnings from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and set up a humming campus here in Houston. We reached our 100x target in 2023 and tested at higher power throughout 2024. Now, we’re drilling under the open sky. Millimeter wave drilling is the keystone of superhot geothermal. It’s the only way to access the resource at scale while reaching economic and power parity with fossil fuels. Over the coming months, two more drilling field tests will pave the way to our first commercial developments. Join Henry Phan, Vice President of Engineering, for a rare look under the hood to see how we got here.

Last year, we made a promise. We promised to share why deep #geothermal is not an option but a necessity for the global #energy transition. Now, in 2025, we’ll walk through how to construct the first superhot geothermal power plants. You can also expect several #drilling updates in 2025. Our millimeter wave drilling systems quietly progressed last year to become fully field-ready. We’re finally breaking ground in Texas and can’t wait to show you. These two themes build off each other. As we mature millimeter wave drilling, we also need to de-risk the whole process of superhot geothermal power production. We can’t have one without the other; they are made to go together. 20 years from now, how will we remember 2025? At Quaise, we believe it will be seen as the advent of superhot geothermal. The year when all the pieces started falling into place and the path forward was laid bare. So join us this year as we shift our focus toward first commercial operations. https://lnkd.in/gtDsYVip

We need industrial heat for everything from processing food to making plastics to melting steel. But today, nearly all industrial heat is powered by fossil fuels. In our January Insight, we look at how deep #geothermal offers a new solution for decarbonizing industrial heat by going hotter and deeper than ever before. Dig deeper ⬇️ - About 70% of industrial heat needs exceed 100°C, and almost 50% are above 400°C - Deep geothermal operates at temperatures of 300-500°C, making it ideal for decarbonizing a large swath of industrial processes - Hydrogen production and cascaded heat powered by deep geothermal can address industrial heat needs at the highest and lowest temperatures https://lnkd.in/ezQtJ3Zt

These granite core samples are helping us unlock the most valuable #geothermal heat resources for power generation and industrial demand. Our millimeter wave drilling technology is optimized for the deep basement layer of the Earth’s upper crust, where you’ll find hard, crystalline rocks. Millimeter waves are at the cutting edge of what's possible for deep drilling and geothermal energy. Core sections like these reveal the minerals and lithologies we will encounter in our drilling field trials. Each mineral phase in a rock like granite absorbs, transmits, and reflects millimeter waves differently—affecting how quickly and efficiently we can drill. The drilling rate directly affects the overall economics of superhot geothermal energy. A better understanding of the rocks we are drilling into is crucial for bringing terawatts of clean power online in record time. Learn more about millimeter wave drilling: https://lnkd.in/eqKzygeK Learn more about the economics and #LCOE of superhot geothermal: https://lnkd.in/gdxBNPRQ

Our new analysis of data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) highlights a looming warning from the Lone Star State. The analysis by Charlotte "Coco" Wallace looks at ERCOT data from 2022 and 2023 to demonstrate the reliability challenges of operating a grid solely based on solar, wind, storage, and existing nuclear power—resulting in more infrastructure generating less efficient energy on vastly more land. Dig deeper ⬇️ - Just meeting average demand would require a 3.4x solar and wind overbuild and a 42.4x increase in storage capacity - A 3.4x overbuild in Texas would require about as much space as Lake Michigan - Texas could generate reliable, renewable power for the whole state by focusing on #geothermal Read the full ERCOT Analysis and Insight: https://lnkd.in/g_DrJcRj

A deep geothermal pilot plant for the single largest gold-producing complex in the world. Quaise and the Barrick-operated Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), a joint venture with Newmont Corporation, are exploring additional decarbonization of NGM’s TS Power Plant by using geothermal heat from NGM’s land and subsurface holdings to hybridize on-site power generation. “We continue to pursue initiatives that economically reduce our reliance on carbon-based electricity sources,” said Henri Gonin, Managing Director of Nevada Gold Mines. “Quaise offers a unique prospective solution to hybridize our on-site power generation with clean geothermal heat.” The partnership underscores the unique capabilities of deep geothermal to decarbonize heavy industrial sectors like #mining, and marks the first commercial pilot for retrofitting a fossil fuel power plant to accommodate #geothermal heat. Read the full press release below. https://lnkd.in/eck3RnZM

All that ablated rock has to go somewhere. Our millimeter wave drilling process creates very small rock particles that must be removed from the borehole. To do so, a circulating purge gas sweeps downhole to the drilling front and carries all the particulates to the surface. The exhaust system then collects our disposed rock onsite and stores it for removal. Designing a highly effective exhaust system is crucial for superhot #geothermal energy. A clean borehole is essential for maximizing production out of each well and ensuring safe operations for decades to come.

It’s time to reimagine #geothermal energy. Our new Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) calculator and interactive map show, for the first time, how superhot geothermal developed with millimeter wave drilling makes geothermal more accessible and cost-effective across the United States and, consequently, the world. The LCOE calculator and map allow you to compare projected costs at varying well depths and temperatures anywhere in the contiguous United States. No other approach could make geothermal energy cost-competitive, or even possible, east of the Mississippi. Dig Deeper ⬇️ - Geothermal costs fall continuously until reaching 300-400 C, at which point they optimize and level out - Currently, there are no operating geothermal power plants east of New Mexico - Underneath one human footprint, anywhere in the world, is enough clean energy to power 20,000 homes Explore the calculator, map, our white paper on LCOE, and the full Insight: https://lnkd.in/gdxBNPRQ

A better way to remove deeply drilled rock: compressed air. Our millimeter wave drilling process cannot rely on conventional techniques like drilling mud to remove rock cuttings. Drilling mud interferes with our waveguide and the millimeter waves themselves. The solution is to circulate a purge gas, or compressed air, throughout the process. Gases such as nitrogen and argon are ideal to flush downhole, sweeping all the vaporized rock away from the drilling front and up to the surface for removal. The purge gas system allows us to use millimeter wave drilling at unprecedented depths, unlocking deep #geothermal energy to decarbonize civilization within a generation.

“Exciting finding: extreme heat & pressure can help create better enhanced geothermal systems [EGS],” says Peter Massie of the Cascade Institute, commenting on a recent publication in Nature Communications led by EPFL, with support from Quaise and others.   The resulting data are among the first to show that superdeep rock can form fractures that connect and make it more permeable. Until now, geologists were divided as to whether this was possible. It all means superhot geothermal could become “much more economic,” says Geoffrey Garrison, our VP of Operations. Elizabeth Thomson reports on the findings and what they mean for the future of #geothermal energy.   Dig Deeper ⬇️   - Rock under high pressures and temperatures—more than 375 C, or 707 F—is ductile, or gooey, as opposed to a smashable stone from your backyard - Superdeep fractured rock is 10x more permeable than cracked rock found much closer to the surface - Superhot geothermal can deliver 5-10x more power than typically produced today from EGS systems and do so for up to two decades https://lnkd.in/eMiZwm6q