Geothermal is heating up
In the race to decarbonize, we don’t just need more clean power. We need clean power that’s available 24/7, rain or shine, day or night. We call this “clean firm” power and it’s essential to keep grids balanced without massively overbuilding wind, solar, and storage.
Geothermal, once seen as too costly or too location-specific, is now showing it has the potential to play that role at scale. More than that, per a recent International Energy Agency analysis, geothermal has the potential to be bigger than any clean energy source other than solar.
As Joe Goodman of VoLo Earth (GP at one of our underlying funds) put it, geothermal is the “sleepy giant energy resource which, once awakened, can power the world alongside wind and solar.” Well, it’s starting to stir.
Here’s why we’re excited.
🚀 Two portfolio companies’ breakthroughs signal a geothermal tipping point
1. XGS Energy lands a $1.2B partnership with Meta, a vote of confidence
XGS Energy, a leader in closed-loop enhanced geothermal, just signed a 150 MW offtake agreement with Meta to power its New Mexico data center. This is a major milestone. Not just for XGS, but for the industry. This project is part of a much larger development pipeline, which totals about 3 GW. For context, the entire US geothermal capacity last year was just over 2 GW. That’s far more than incremental growth.
2. Fervo Energy: always deeper, hotter, faster…
Back in January 2025, Nat Bullard’s annual presentation on the state of decarbonization already featured an overview of Fervo’s geothermal wells learning curve. 6 months later, they exceeded expectations again.
Fervo just drilled a new record-breaking well reaching 15,765 feet (4.8 km) and hitting 520°F (271.1 °C). Even more impressively, they did it in just 16 days, slashing drilling time by nearly 80%. The result speaks for itself: They’ve more than doubled their power forecast for this project in Utah to 5 GW, secured $206 million in project financing, and locked in power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Google, Shell, and major California utilities.
These announcements mark a major acceleration for enhanced geothermal systems technologies. Drilling deeper and hotter wells in less time means the technology could be competitive in more locations. Geothermal is now scaling in places where high heat resources were previously out of reach. This is no longer niche. It’s becoming a credible clean firm alternative to fossil fuel baseload.
We’re proud to back the pioneers building the foundation for this next phase of clean energy, opening new horizons for geothermal around the world.
📊 From breakthrough to scale: the path ahead
Geothermal’s moment isn’t just good news for the climate. It’s a technology shift that many investors haven't fully recognized yet. Until recently, geothermal’s growth was slow, constrained by geology and high upfront costs. But technology (and policy) are catching up:
- Recent reports from the US Geological Survey, Princeton University, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory all agree that there are hundreds of gigawatts of geothermal potential in the United States, especially at depths between 3 and 6 kilometers, and at temperatures between about 200 and 300 degrees Celsius.
- The IEA has projected that with continued technology improvements and reductions in project costs, geothermal could meet up to 15% of global electricity demand growth by 2050. This would mean the cost-effective deployment of as much as 800 GW of geothermal power capacity worldwide, producing almost 6000 terawatt-hours per year. The equivalent of today’s electricity demand of the United States and India combined.
- It’s not only the U.S., Europe is paying attention too: Germany just proposed legislation to fast-track geothermal deployment and the European Council is calling for faster deployment of geothermal energy through faster permitting and easier access to finance.
The sleepy giant is finally waking up.
📈 Want to go deeper?
Check out the full stories on Fervo’s milestone and XGS’s Meta partnership.
🗞️ Carbon Equity Update
- We just had the first close of Access to Climate Tech Fund II and passed a great milestone: welcoming the first 100 investors (actually 120+ by closing time) and raising €3.14M in just 8 weeks! Thank you!!
And another exciting piece of news: the fund is now available for all 🇩🇪, 🇳🇱 and 🇧🇪 investors, still starting at €20'000. Check out the fund details here.
⏳ First close Climate Tech Portfolio Fund IV is next week, 21 July 2025. Join now to save 50% on set-up fees! Check out the fund details here.
- 🌎 What you focus on, grows - Het Geluid van Vooruit with The Green Times
Together with The Green Times and over 30 partners, we launched "Het Geluid van Vooruit" (The Sound of Progress). Every day, countless people are working to build a more sustainable and fairer world. But when you look at the media, it’s the loudest and most polarizing voices that dominate the conversation and get all the attention. Far too much attention, if you ask us. Let's put hope back in the spotlight.
Check out https://www.thegreentimes.eu/vooruit to learn about the positive developments that deserve more visibility and how you can be part of the movement.
💡 News from within our funds
🔌 Eindhoven’s Tibo Energy secures €6M to tackle grid congestion in Europe; plans to double its team
🔋 Crusoe and Redwood Materials unveil world’s largest second-life battery deployment
♻️ CycleØ acquires Spanish waste management facility
🧵 Syre announces Gap Inc., Target and Houdini as strategic launch partners to accelerate textile-to-textile recycling
👗 Circulose partners with Mango to build textile circularity at scale
⚡ Octopus-owned Kraken signs first major US utility deal to serve an additional 6M customers
🌬️ Renercycle and Cyclic Materials sign strategic agreement for wind turbines. Also: Cyclic raised $25M to establish new center for rare earth recycling in Kingston, Ontario
🤖 Source.ag deepens AI partnership with Harvest House to enhance precision in agricultural forecasting
Already investing with us? You can now follow the latest news on your investments directly on our platform, here.
📚 Interesting reads
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Pain and resilience for climate tech investors
This Open Circuit podcast episode dives into the current mood in climate tech: high conviction meets harsh reality. From painful markdowns to portfolio bets still worth holding, investors reflect on where the market stands and how to navigate the new normal.
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Turning oil into hydrogen, cleanly. This Houston startup is harnessing naturally occurring microbes to extract geologic hydrogen from depleted oil reservoirs. It’s early days, but if scalable, this could be a new pathway for low-emission hydrogen.
Climate PE Funds: Heating up or Cooling down?
Pitchbook takes the pulse of climate private equity. Fundraising is stabilizing post-hype, while dealflow shifts toward later-stage and energy-heavy bets. Strong fundamentals remain, but capital is increasingly concentrated in resilient sectors and seasoned GPs.
Capital stacking up for energy security & resilience
Sightline’s H1 2025 data shows a rebound in climate tech investment, with energy security now a central thesis. Big capital is flowing into grid, storage, and nuclear. The new climate playbook? Resilience, reliability, and ROI.
