Quaise Energy Geothermal Drilling Raises $180M for Oregon

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Key Takeaways

• Quaise Energy closed a $180 million Series B in August 2026, led by Nabors Industries and Prelude Ventures, with JERA and Idemitsu Kosan also taking part. The company says total funding is now $280 million.
• The U.S. Department of Energy selected Quaise for up to $25 million in support, subject to completing negotiations. The money will fund analysis of results from the first two wells to improve a third.
• Project Obsidian in central Oregon has a seven-well first phase. It targets more than 50 megawatts by 2030 on about 20 surface acres.
• Quaise started drilling its first confirmation well in July 2026. The well is planned to reach about 15,000 feet and roughly 400°C.
• The 2030 power targets are plans, not operating results. Drilling cost, heat, pressure and project financing are still the main risks.

Quaise says its seven-well first phase will sit on only about 20 acres at the surface. Underground, those wells will reach a zone of roughly 200 acres, and the company is targeting more than 50 megawatts of power. That is the core of the project behind the $180 million raise, and it shows what Quaise energy geothermal drilling is now trying to prove in Oregon.

The idea is simple. Drill deep enough to reach rock hot enough to make very strong steam, and a small site can produce a lot of steady power.

For climate-tech founders and operators, the story is a case study in financing hard technology. Venture capital, strategic energy investors, federal support and existing drilling expertise are all working together. That mix can move a costly technology from lab validation toward real deployment. It also leaves large execution and financing risks, and this article covers both.

Who Put Up the $180 Million, and Why It Matters

Quaise closed its Series B announced on August 27, 2026 at $180 million. Nabors Industries and Prelude Ventures led the round. JERA and Idemitsu Kosan took part.

In its August 27, 2026 final-close announcement, Quaise said the round brought its total funding to $280 million.

The round came in stages. Quaise announced a $134 million first close on July 7, 2026. The August 27 final close brought the round to $180 million.

A mix of investors, not just venture money

Look at who is in the round:

• Nabors Industries is a drilling company. It brings field knowledge and rigs.
• Prelude Ventures is a venture firm focused on climate technology.
• JERA and Idemitsu Kosan are energy companies. They have a stake in what comes after fossil fuels.

Those four investors describe the technology as potentially global and able to provide baseload power. Baseload means power that runs around the clock, not only when the sun shines or the wind blows.

Project financing advisers are already involved

The research names BofA Securities and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC as advisers on project financing. That signals Quaise is planning to fund the power plant itself, not only the technology.

Building a plant is a different task from building a drill. It needs lenders, contracts and a buyer for the power. Founders in capital-heavy sectors should note that shift.

How this compares with the earlier $40 million round

An article published by The Cool Down on November 15, 2025 covered an earlier $40 million round. It was led by Safar Partners, a Massachusetts investment firm.

Arunas Chesonis, managing partner at Safar Partners, said at the time: "A rapid transition to clean energy is one of the biggest challenges faced by humanity."

The jump from $40 million to $180 million shows how fast the funding picture moved. That growth came as Quaise moved from lab results to field drilling.

Source: Quaise Energy, Quaise Energy (August 27 final close), Renewable Energy Magazine, The Cool Down

Project Obsidian Geothermal: Seven Wells, Two Systems and a 2030 Target

Project Obsidian is in central Oregon and is under construction. The project sits on federal geothermal leases in the Deschutes National Forest.

The first phase has seven wells:

• One confirmation well. It tests the rock and gathers data.
• Two geothermal systems, each with three wells. These are the units meant to make power.

The temperature targets

The two systems aim at different rock temperatures:

• System one: rock averaging 315°C (about 599°F), with maximums near 365°C (about 689°F).
• System two: rock averaging 365°C, with temperatures up to about 415°C (about 779°F).

Most conventional geothermal plants work with cooler rock. These targets fall in the "superhot" range, which is why this project draws so much attention. Overall, the project targets reservoir temperatures above 300°C, and above 400°C for the hottest well.

Small footprint, big underground reach

The seven wells sit on an estimated 20-acre surface footprint. They access about 200 acres underground.

The company also targets more than 50 MW for Phase One by 2030. The DOE-supported three-well setup alone targets more than 25 MW of gross capacity. Gross capacity is the total output before the plant uses some power for its own operations.

First grid power is planned for the Pacific Northwest in 2030.

Different plans and milestones

The 2025 Cool Down article said Quaise planned to have its first drilling rig ready in 2025. It also said the company expected to retrofit a former fossil-fuel power plant to run on geothermal by 2028.

Project Obsidian has a 2030 first-power target. The earlier fossil-plant retrofit and the Obsidian development are different plans; the dates alone do not establish that the same project was delayed.

Source: Quaise Energy (September 22 DOE announcement), Renewable Energy Magazine (October 14), Quaise Energy, The Cool Down

Millimeter Wave Drilling: How Quaise Plans to Go Deeper

Standard drill bits wear out and fail in extreme heat. Quaise is trying a different approach, and it has said it wants to drill "deeper, hotter, and faster" than any previous project.

The two-step method

The company plans to use two kinds of tools:

1. Conventional drilling equipment cuts through the upper layers of rock.
2. A gyrotron and proprietary drilling equipment take over for the extreme depths. A gyrotron is a device that creates a strong beam of millimeter waves, a type of energy wave.

In plain words, millimeter wave drilling uses focused energy instead of only grinding rock with a metal bit. Quaise describes this as a way to reach "unprecedented depths."

The 2025 article said that at about 12 miles deep, temperatures should reach about 932°F (500°C). Quaise said that at such temperatures, geothermal could repower most fossil-fired power plants worldwide.

Obsidian itself is a much shallower first step. Its confirmation well is planned for about 15,000 feet, which is roughly 2.8 miles. That is far less than 12 miles, and it is a more practical first target.

What has been shown in the field

The company reported drilling more than 100 meters through granite at its Central Texas field site in 2025. The 2025 test was described as the first full-scale field penetration of basement rock with this technology. Basement rock is the hard crystalline rock that lies below sediment layers.

In its July 7, 2026 announcement, Quaise said its system was approaching one kilometer of depth. That wording reports work in progress, not completion of a one-kilometer borehole.

The reported 100-meter-plus granite test is a completed field demonstration. Approaching one kilometer describes progress toward another milestone. Neither statement proves economical, repeatable drilling at the depths needed for the hottest targets.

The Obsidian confirmation well

Quaise began drilling its first confirmation well in July 2026. The well is planned to reach about 15,000 feet and roughly 400°C.

Sensors will measure:

• Bottom-hole temperature
• Geomechanical conditions, meaning how the rock behaves under stress
• Other properties needed to design the geothermal systems

This data decides how the later wells are designed. A confirmation well that comes in cooler or harder than expected would change the plan.

Source: Quaise Energy (September 22 DOE announcement), Renewable Energy Magazine (October 14), Quaise Energy, The Cool Down

The $25 Million DOE Award Is About Data, Not Just Cash

Quaise announced on September 22, 2026 that the U.S. Department of Energy had selected it for up to $25 million. The funding comes under its Next-Generation Geothermal Field Tests and Geothermal Resource Characterization and Confirmation funding opportunity.

The award is subject to completion of negotiations. It is a selection, not money already in the bank.

What the money is for

The funds will support analysis of drilling, stimulation and flow results from the first two wells. The goal is to optimize a third well.

Here is what those terms mean:

• Drilling results show how well the equipment performed.
• Stimulation means work that helps water move through hot rock.
• Flow results show how much fluid actually moves through the rock and how hot it comes out.

The DOE-backed program emphasizes collecting data and building a replicable Enhanced Geothermal Systems template. An Enhanced Geothermal System is a man-made geothermal reservoir. It is built by creating paths for water to move through hot rock that would not otherwise give up its heat.

The DOE is not treating commercial success as proven. It is paying for evidence.

A university lab adds to the picture

Oregon State University's Experimental Deep Geothermal Energy laboratory is recreating deep-underground conditions. Researchers there are studying how injected water interacts with superhot rock.

That lab work complements field measurements from Project Obsidian. Lab tests are cheaper and easier to repeat than deep wells. Together, the two sources can help engineers check their assumptions.

Why public support matters here

Early deep-tech projects often face a gap. They are too risky for standard lenders but too large for small grants. Federal field-test money can help fill that gap, and the data it produces can help later private financing.

Source: Quaise Energy (September 22 DOE announcement), Renewable Energy Magazine (October 14)

Superhot Geothermal Energy: The Promise and the Hard Limits

Why are investors and the DOE interested in superhot geothermal energy? Conventional geothermal works only in places with the right natural conditions. Going deeper could, in theory, open up firm, carbon-free power in many more places.

What backers say

The investment and DOE support show growing institutional confidence in this idea. Quaise's investors describe the technology as potentially global and baseload.

The 2025 article added several claims from Quaise:

• Geothermal at these temperatures could repower most fossil-fuel-fired power plants, using existing generation equipment and workforces.
• The system could produce energy with little to no waste.
• It could reemploy oil and gas workers.
• It would use less than 1% of the land needed by solar and wind projects.

CEO Carlos Araque said: "Our technology allows us to access energy anywhere in the world, at a scale far greater than wind and solar, enabling future generations to thrive in a world powered with abundant clean energy."

These are company claims, and they describe a goal. They are not results from an operating plant.

The drilling challenge described in industry reporting

Renewable Energy Magazine describes the central technical problem. Superhot rock is commonly several miles underground. Conventional oil-and-gas equipment struggles with the heat and pressure there. Drilling costs rise sharply with depth. Source: Renewable Energy Magazine.

If drilling cost does not fall far enough, the power will not be competitive. That is the main commercial question hanging over the project.

Safety questions remain

The 2025 article noted that drilling at these depths and temperatures goes beyond conventional geothermal work. It said the scale raises legitimate questions about effects of drilling at such depths in multiple places around the world.

Quaise experts said they were confident they could safely "vaporize boreholes." Regulators, neighbors and insurers will want proof from real wells.

Where things stand

The current state is transitional:

• Quaise has drilled through granite in the field.
• It is building its first commercial plant.
• Its 2030 generation targets and gigawatt-scale expansion potential are plans, not operating results.

Other players are also moving toward geothermal. The 2025 article noted that Google is investing in geothermal technology to help power its large data centers.

Source: The Cool Down, Quaise Energy (September 22 DOE announcement), Renewable Energy Magazine (October 14), Quaise Energy

What This Means for Startups and Small Businesses

You do not need to drill a hole to learn from this story. The financing and execution pattern applies to many fields.

1. Stack different kinds of backers

Quaise's round included a drilling company, a climate venture firm and two energy companies. Each brings something beyond money: field skills, industry access or a future customer relationship. If you build hardware, energy or industrial tech, look for strategic investors, not only financial ones.

2. Use public funding to produce proof

The DOE award is tied to data from specific wells. Grants like this can pay for the proof that makes later private financing easier. Check what public programs exist in your sector and what evidence they would help you create.

3. Build on existing skills and equipment

Quaise's pitch leans on existing power plants, infrastructure and workers. Nabors, a drilling company, is now a lead investor. Products that fit into what customers already own are usually easier to sell than ones that need a whole new system.

4. Show proof in steps

Quaise moved from lab work to a Texas granite test to a confirmation well in Oregon. Each step produces evidence for the next raise. Break your own roadmap into milestones that investors can check.

5. Be honest about what is plan and what is result

The company's 2030 targets are forward-looking. Good reporting separates demonstrated results from projections, and your pitch and marketing should do the same. Overpromising damages trust, especially with technical buyers.

6. Watch timelines and costs

Track each project and milestone separately. The earlier 2028 retrofit goal and Obsidian’s 2030 first-power target are different plans, so they cannot establish a delay on their own. Build slack into your own schedule and budget, especially if you depend on suppliers, permits or regulators.

7. Keep your own operations lean

Capital-heavy companies still need tight back-office work. Automating routine tasks such as reporting, invoicing and investor updates keeps small teams focused on the hard problems.

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