A quartet of geothermal developers made headlines this week with agreements that could lead to defense contracts, and one that received new funding.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has recently expanded its geothermal initiative with the inclusion of three new companies—Fervo Energy, GreenFire Energy, and Sage Geosystems.
The initiative aims to reduce the military's carbon footprint and enhance energy self-sufficiency. Plans are underway for early-stage studies by these companies at military installations across California, Nevada, and Texas.
Fervo Energy, which specializes in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) utilizing modern horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies, will explore the feasibility of drilling and completing EGS wells at the US Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada.
The selection follows reports earlier this year that Fervo issued government filings showing it has raised approximately $138.5 million of a targeted $221 million in equity financing. The Houston-based company recently highlighted that drilling costs at its Project Cape in Utah have dropped by nearly half, from $9.4 million to $4.8 million per well.
Sage Geosystems is also set to conduct a feasibility study at the US Fort Bliss Army Base in Texas. Sage's approach targets shallower hot dry-rock formations than typical geothermal projects. The company secured $17 million in Series A funding this year and is collaborating with Texas electric regulators to develop a 3-MW subsurface energy storage system by year's end. This innovative system plans to use injected fluids that are stored under pressure to generate electricity on demand.
California-based GreenFire Energy, which develops closed-loop geothermal technology that avoids contact with subsurface water, will evaluate the deployment of its systems at the US Naval Air Facility in El Centro, California. GreenFire is supported by several investors, including Baker Hughes, which has helped test the technology at its testing facility in Oklahoma City.
These companies join four others—Eavor, Teverra, Zanskar Geothermal and Minerals Inc.—previously selected by the DoD, which are now at various stages of project evaluation in Alaska, California, Idaho, and Texas.
In a separate announcement, GA Drilling said this week it raised $15 million from investors following successful geothermal drilling technology tests. Key participants include existing investor global drilling rig contractor Nabors, along with several private investors. The capital injection will support GA Drilling's efforts to commercialize its AnchorBit technology, capable of reaching drilling depths of 4 to 5 km, which the firm claims will extend the current economic limits of many geothermal wells by at least 1 km.
GA Drilling is also in discussions to help create a 12-MW geothermal power plant in Lower Saxony, Germany. This project is so far working under a nonbinding memorandum of understanding signed in February.
