Quaise Energy Raises $134M for Microwave Deep Drilling Technology

Quaise Energy startup has raised $134 million to develop drilling technology that reaches several kilometers deep by breaking rock with microwave radiation to access extremely hot geothermal sources, according to Bloomberg. The first tranche of the Series B round was led by venture capital fund Prelude Ventures.

What makes Quaise's approach different

Traditional geothermal energy has long meant relatively shallow wells and moderate rock temperatures — this approach limits the power and efficiency of geothermal plants to regions with favorable geology. Quaise Energy bets on a fundamentally different scale: drilling several kilometers deep, where rock temperature is significantly higher, and therefore the potential for energy generation is higher.

• Amount of capital raised — $134 million
• Lead investor of the first Series B tranche — Prelude Ventures fund
• Technology — drilling several kilometers deep with rock breakage using microwave radiation
• Information source — Bloomberg

Why microwave drilling is needed

The key technical problem of ultra-deep drilling is the mechanical wear of drill bits when in contact with hard, incandescent rock at great depths. Breaking rock with microwaves instead of purely mechanical drilling is an attempt to overcome this limitation and reduce the cost of drilling to depths unattainable for traditional drilling rigs at comparable expense.

If the technology works at industrial scale, it potentially opens access to extremely hot geothermal resources in regions that were previously not considered promising for geothermal energy due to insufficiently hot rock at accessible depths.

What this means

The raising of $134 million confirms that investors are increasingly backing deep drilling technologies as a way to expand geothermal energy beyond traditionally favorable regions — provided that the microwave rock-breaking method proves its effectiveness in practice.