Series B backs Project Obsidian in Central Oregon

Quaise Energy raised $134 million in the first close of its Series B financing for its superhot geothermal push. The funding will support Project Obsidian in Central Oregon and further work on the company’s millimeter wave drilling system.

Prelude Ventures led the round, while JERA Co., Inc. And Idemitsu Kosan joined as strategic investors. JERA is Japan’s largest power generation company, and Idemitsu is one of Japan’s largest integrated energy companies.

Nearly all existing investors also took part, including Safar Partners. With this Series B close, Quaise’s total funding to date reached $230 million.

The equity round is the first part of a broader financing plan. Additional equity, project-level capital and debt are expected to close imminently.

Series B proceeds will fund Project Obsidian, which Quaise describes as the world’s first commercial superhot geothermal power plant. The company is developing the site in Central Oregon while it seeks first revenues from commercial off-take partners that remain unnamed.

CEO and president Carlos Araque called the raise a move from testing to income generation. He said, “Our ambition is to power civilization with Earth’s most compelling energy source. This round takes us from field-proven technology to first commercial revenues.”

Project Obsidian and Texas drilling

Quaise’s drilling system came out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It uses millimeter waves to ablate rock at depths and temperatures that conventional drilling cannot reach economically.

The company is developing the system for depths beyond 5 km. At those depths, Quaise says it could reach rock temperatures of 300-500°C in most places worldwide.

At its Central Texas field site in 2025, Quaise drilled more than 100 metres through granite. The company said that marked the first time the technology penetrated basement rock at full scale in field conditions.

Meanwhile, the same Texas site is approaching one kilometer of depth. If reached, that milestone would be the deepest penetration achieved with millimeter wave drilling and the deepest ever recorded by any non-contact drilling technology.

Those field results support the system planned for Project Obsidian in Oregon. Quaise says the technology could enable geothermal plants with power density closer to fossil and nuclear generation, while matching renewables on cost.