seeing green

Houston cleantech startup seeks $200M for superhot geothermal plant

Quaise Energy is developing Project Obsidian, a superhot geothermal plant in central Oregon. Rendering via quaise.com.

Houston-based Quaise Energy is looking to raise $200 million to support the development of a 50-megawatt superhot geothermal plant in Oregon.

The company is seeking $100 million in Series B funding, plus an additional $100 million from grants, debt and project-level finance, a representative from the company tells Energy Capital. Axios first reported the news late last month.

Quaise specializes in terawatt-scale geothermal power. It is known for its millimeter-wave drilling technology, which was developed at MIT.

The company's Project Obsidian development in central Oregon will combine conventional drilling with its millimeter-wave technology. Quaise says the project, targeted to come online in 2030, could be the first commercial plant to operate in superhot rock, a more efficient and abundant resource, but one that requires more advanced and durable drilling technology.

Quaise says Obsidian would initially generate 50 megawatts of "always-on" power and would be designed to add 200 megawatts as additional wells are developed. A power-purchase deal has already been signed for the initial 50 megawatts with an undisclosed customer.

A representative from the company says Quaise would also use the funding to continue advancing its millimeter-wave technology and prepare it for commercialization.

Last year, the company drilled to a depth of about 330 feet using its millimeter-wave technology at its field site in Central Texas.

“Our progress this year has exceeded all expectations,” Carlos Araque, CEO and president of Quaise Energy, said at the time. “We’re drilling faster and deeper at this point than anyone believed possible, proving that millimeter-wave technology is the only tool capable of reaching the superhot rock needed for next-generation geothermal power. We are opening up a path to a new energy frontier.”

Canary Media reports that Quaise plans to drill to nearly 3,300 feet later this year and to deploy its millimeter-wave technology at its power plant in 2027.

Quaise raised $21 million in a Series A1 financing round in 2024 and a $52 million Series A in 2022. Major investors include Prelude Ventures, Safar Partners, Mitsubishi Corporation, Nabors Industries, TechEnergy and others.

Quaise was one of eight Houston-area companies to appear on Time magazine and Statista’s list of America’s Top GreenTech Companies of 2025.

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A View From HETI

The company's technology extracts critical minerals like iodine, lithium and copper from oilfield-produced water. Photo courtesy Altillion

Houston-based startup Altillion has secured $5 million in seed funding to accelerate the commercialization of its proprietary IRIS and ALIX technologies, which convert oilfield-produced water into valuable minerals.

San Francisco-based EIC Rose Rock and Houston-based Flathead Forge led the round. Altillion says the funding will go toward pilot facilities and commercial deployments as the company looks to scale in the U.S.

“Altillion’s efficient and scalable technologies are needed more than ever to reshape critical mineral recovery and facilitate beneficial use of oilfield brines,” Jay Keener, Altillion’s CEO and co-founder, said in a news release. “We’re uniquely positioned to provide a stable, domestic supply of the critical minerals needed for electronics, batteries, healthcare and national defense technologies. This investment from EIC Rose Rock and Flathead Forge enables us to strategically accelerate this impact and is very timely given the current geopolitical dynamics.”

Altillion's IRIS and ALIX platforms extract minerals like iodine, lithium and copper from oilfield-produced water, geothermal brines and salars. This process allows companies to unlock new sources of revenue while also boosting the domestic critical minerals supply chain. The company announced earlier this summer that it will launch a feasibility project in the Permian Basin and aims to develop a path to commercial-scale implementation in the field.

“We are excited to partner with Altillion to scale and deploy these world-class technologies to access the vast wealth hidden in wastewater,” David Clouse, Managing Director of EIC Rose Rock, added in the release. “With Altillion, we’re expanding our ability to empower the energy industry to domestically source the critical minerals America needs for a robust economy and supply chain.”

Altillion was founded by Keener and COO Scott Buckwald in 2023. Keener previously founded KDH Trading, where Buckwald also serves as COO, according to his LinkedIn page.

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