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Next-gen geothermal developer Fervo Energy raises $138 million

Fervo utilizes innovations pioneered by the oil and gas industry, such as horizontal drilling and distributed fiber optic sensing, to make reservoirs of hot rock that exist beneath the earth’s surface into practical, economically viable, clean sources of energy.
Next-gen geothermal developer Fervo Energy raises $138 million
Fervo Energy CEO Tim Latimer at the company's next-generation geothermal operations (Courtesy: Fervo Energy)

Fervo Energy has raised $138 million to develop and deploy its next-generation geothermal technology.

Fervo utilizes innovations pioneered by the oil and gas industry, such as horizontal drilling and distributed fiber optic sensing, to make reservoirs of hot rock that exist beneath the earth’s surface into practical, economically viable, clean sources of energy.

The new funding helps Fervo complete power plants in both Nevada and Utah and evaluate new projects in California, Idaho, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, and internationally.

“Power buyers are interested in geothermal power because they are actively looking for reliable energy sources that can address climate change and rising energy prices,” Fervo CEO Tim Latimer said. “Our mission is to meet that growing demand by putting gigawatts of 24/7 carbon-free energy on the grid. This latest investment enables us to execute on those ambitious plans.”

The latest funding round was led by DCVC.

Other new investors included Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), Liberty Energy, Macquarie, Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Impact Science Ventures, and Prelude Ventures. The round also saw strong participation from existing investors such as Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Congruent Ventures, 3X5 Partners, Helmerich & Payne, and Elemental Excelerator.

Geothermal can provide 24/7 clean energy for power generation, efficient heating and cooling, agriculture, mineral extraction, and more. However, the higher levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) often leads buyers or developers toward less expensive clean energy alternatives like wind and solar.

Last year, Fervo announced the world’s first corporate agreement to develop geothermal, a project to power Google’s data centers in Nevada. Recently, Fervo also signed a 40 MW power purchase agreement with East Bay Community Energy, a leading California clean energy provider.