Enhanced geothermal systems are unlocking heat beneath our feet — wherever we need it
Traditional geothermal energy is location specific. It works where the Earth’s heat is close to the surface — Iceland, the western United States, East Africa, Indonesia, and other volcanically active regions. Globally, only about 15 GW of geothermal capacity is installed, constrained by geology. But a new generation of technology — Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) is changing that. By drilling deep enough and engineering the rock to create artificial reservoirs, developers are unlocking geothermal potential virtually anywhere on Earth.
How Conventional Geothermal Works
In conventional geothermal plants, naturally occurring steam or hot water is tapped from permeable rock formations close to volcanic activity. The fluid is piped to the surface to drive turbines, then reinjected. The technology is proven, the output is baseload (24/7, unaffected by weather), and the carbon footprint is near-zero. The problem is geographic: high-temperature hydrothermal resources are rare.
Enhanced Geothermal Systems: The Engineering Approach
EGS does not wait for nature to create the right conditions. Instead, it engineers them. A deep well is drilled into hot dry rock — rock that has sufficient heat (typically 150–300°C, found at 3–10 km depth in most continental regions) but insufficient permeability for conventional extraction. Water is injected under high pressure to hydraulically fracture the rock, creating a network of cracks. A second well intercepts the fracture network; cold water pumps down one well heats up as it flows through the fractures and rises the other as steam or hot water. This ‘doublet’ system creates an artificial geothermal reservoir in rock that had no commercially useful thermal resource before.
Quaise Energy: Millimeter Waves for Ultradeep Drilling
One of the most innovative companies in this space is Quaise Energy, an MIT spinout funded by Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Rather than conventional rotary drilling — which becomes progressively slower and more expensive at great depth — Quaise is developing a millimeter-wave energy beam (essentially a directed microwave at 95 GHz) to vaporize rock as it drills. The technology could theoretically reach depths of 20 km, accessing temperatures of 450–600°C — hot enough for supercritical geothermal steam with dramatically higher energy output per well than conventional EGS. Quaise aims to repurpose existing coal plant infrastructure, using the thermal cycle already in place at retiring fossil plants while replacing the heat source with deep geothermal heat.
Fervo Energy: Tech-Driven EGS
Fervo Energy is taking a more near-term approach, applying oilfield drilling technologies — horizontal drilling, distributed fiber optic sensing, and advanced stimulation techniques — to EGS. Fervo commissioned its first commercial EGS project in Nevada in 2023, delivering 3.5 MW of baseload power to Google. The company’s Project Red demonstrated continuous 24/7 clean power from a completely novel EGS resource — no natural hydrothermal activity required. Fervo has announced a much larger project in Utah with a 400 MW target, backed by over $400 million in investment.
The Policy Tailwind
U.S. energy policy has become notably favorable for geothermal. The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act extended the full production tax credit to EGS projects. The CHIPS and Science Act funded DOE’s Enhanced Geothermal Shot initiative, which targets an 85% reduction in EGS costs by 2035. The Trump administration, while withdrawing from many clean energy incentives, has specifically maintained support for geothermal as a domestically produced firm power source. The DOE estimates geothermal could supply a substantial portion of U.S. electricity by 2050 if costs fall as projected.
Geothermal 2.0 represents one of the most underappreciated clean energy opportunities. Unlike solar and wind, it provides firm, baseload power with a small footprint. Unlike nuclear, it has no fuel cycle concerns, no waste, and rapid deployment timelines once drilling technology matures. The challenge is primarily one of drilling cost — and several companies are racing to solve it.