Clean energy company Quaise Energy announced March 12 the closing of a $21 million Series A1 financing round to enhance terawatt-scale deep geothermal operations and strengthen the company’s supply chain position.

Deep geothermal is what Quaise calls a “promising” way to meet the global energy transition at scale by creating more energy with fewer sources.

 A deep geothermal power plant can create 10x more energy than conventional geothermal, provide 24/7 baseload power and unlock near universal access to clean energy on a small land footprint, according to the company’s March 12 press release.

To achieve deep geothermal energy globally at 3km to 20km below Earth’s surface, Quaise will utilize a technique to vaporize rock using high-power microwaves in the millimeter range, based on more than a decade of research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and recent testing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

 The original MIT experiments have now been scaled up 100x, with field demonstrations commencing in 2024, the release said.

“The world needs, more than ever before, game-changing technologies that can deliver abundant carbon-free heat and power to become carbon neutral by 2050,” said Toshiaki Nobuhara, the Mitsubishi Corp.’s general manager of the international utility department. “We believe deep geothermal has great potential to become one of these technologies.”

The new funding also aims to improve geological understanding at pilot plant locations. Quaise said it will conduct magnetic and seismic surveys, among other tests, “to identify the most advantageous areas for initial drilling.” The data will inform the company on where to place the first commercial pilots.

The financing round was led by Prelude Ventures and Safar Partners. Mitsubishi Corp. and Standard Investments are among several new investors participating in the round.

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