Deep underground in most places around the world, there is enough heat to power entire cities — if only we could reach it. A US startup called Quaise Energy has built new drilling technology that can dig far deeper than ever before, unlocking that heat for clean electricity almost anywhere on the planet. The company announced this month that JERA, Japan's biggest energy firm, is investing in its technology, bringing the world one step closer to a future powered by clean, reliable energy from beneath our feet.
For years, geothermal energy — heat drawn from underground — has been limited to a few lucky spots where hot rock and water happen to lie close to the surface. That is why almost all US geothermal plants sit clustered in states west of the Rocky Mountains. The rest of the country, and much of the world, has been left out.
Quaise Energy wants to change that. The company, based in the United States, uses a special high-temperature drilling system that can reach heat sources buried far deeper underground than old technology allowed. According to Quaise, its system can produce 10 to 100 times more electricity from the same piece of land compared to existing geothermal plants. The deeper you drill, the hotter it gets — and the more power you can pull out.
The company is already putting its technology to work. It broke ground on a geothermal project in Oregon called Project Obsidian, and JERA's investment will help build it out. The two companies also plan to explore bringing the technology to Japan, which has enormous untapped geothermal resources hidden deep underground across the archipelago.
Quaise has raised significant backing to make this happen. In February 2025, it secured $21 million in a funding round. Just one month later, it raised another $13 million from private investors. The company has also been pre-qualified to bid on contracts with the US Air Force, which has a long history of being an early adopter of clean energy — it helped drive down the cost of solar power two decades ago, long before it became competitive with fossil fuels.
The timing matters. Geothermal energy runs 24 hours a day, regardless of whether the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. That reliability makes it a strong substitute for power plants that burn fossil fuels. By planting geothermal systems at existing power plant sites, Quaise can tap into existing electrical connections and permits, speeding up the shift to clean energy.
The partnership with JERA signals that this technology is not just a US story. Japan, with its volcanic geology, sits on some of the richest geothermal deposits on Earth — yet barely uses them. If Quaise's technology works at scale, it could open up clean, homegrown energy for countries that have long relied on imported fuels. That is a prospect worth watching closely.