Quaise Energy, a startup spun out of MIT in 2018, is developing a radical drilling technology using gyrotrons, high-powered microwave emitters normally used in nuclear fusion research, to vaporize rock and access Earth’s deeper heat. Their aim? Drill up to 20 km and tap into superhot geothermal reservoirs with temperatures exceeding 400 °C. That could make geothermal viable nearly anywhere, not just in traditional hotspots like Iceland or California.
Field demonstrations are already underway. In Houston, Quaise successfully vaporized a deep hole in basalt rock within a warehouse. That lab test, and others nearby, showcased the feasibility of millimeter-wave melting, even though it’s still short of commercial scale. The company plans to move to actual field trials later this year, including drilling in granite quarries near Austin and operating from a Nabors rig in Houston to test compatibility with existing oilfield infrastructure.
Nabors Partnership Powers Progress
This spring, Quaise formalized a partnership with major drilling firm Nabors Industries. Nabors initially invested $12 million in late 2021 and now serves as Quaise’s technical partner. Their existing rig infrastructure in Houston is being retrofitted with Quaise’s gyrotron system. This collaboration accelerates Quaise’s path to field testing and gives Nabors a stake in next-gen geothermal technology.
Cameron Maresh, project engineer at Nabors, emphasized how the startup/legacy partner model can work: “we are agnostic to what hole we’re drilling” and see potential across various drilling and geothermal ventures.
Why It’s a Big Deal
Traditional geothermal is geographically limited where hot resources are near the surface. Quaise’s gyrotron method overcomes that by vaporizing rock at great depth, reportedly reducing drilling timelines to 100 days per 20 km well and using roughly 1 MW of power, similar to conventional drilling rigs.
By hitting supercritical zones at such depths, Quaise believes a single well could power 25–50 MW, enough to run steam turbines originally used by coal plants. Their roadmap includes retrofitting existing plants and leveraging legacy drilling infrastructure for rapid commercialization.
Hurdles Still Remain
Engineering challenges abound. Sustaining a clean, high-density beam over kilometers without loss, handling vaporized rock removal, and maintaining wellbore integrity under extreme heat are major unresolved issues. While gyrotrons are commercially available, they’ve never been used continuously underground in this way.
Some skeptics, including users on Reddit, argue that fundamental issues like debris flushing, beam shape, and device durability have slowed Quaise’s progress. One user noted, “they just raised another $21 M a few months ago and haven’t done the 10:1 hole” and cited challenges such as self-fouling and beam symmetry.
What’s Next
Quaise intends to complete its lab-scale 100:1 aspect ratio drilling test by sometime next year. That milestone would pave the way for real-world boring with a full-scale gyrotron rig. By 2026, the company hopes to be harvesting pilot-well energy, with a goal of powering a converted coal plant. By the late 2020s, they envision building five gigawatts’ worth of geothermal plants, potentially generating affordable baseload power at scale.
The Climate Context
The Quaise–Nabors partnership exemplifies how oil-and-gas expertise and infrastructure can be repurposed for climate tech. Reports from the International Energy Agency highlight that energy transitions will be more expensive and slower without legacy industry involvement. The geothermal space is one area where oil and gas know-how, drilling, supply chains, capital, can still play a constructive role Nabors.
That said, traditional oil companies have often underinvested in climate tech and scaled back clean commitments when political winds shift. Big-picture belief doesn’t necessarily translate into massive action. As Nuance: “no one committed to change should wait for someone else to move first.”
Quaise’s technology is still early-stage. But with field trials underway, industry backing, and an audacious vision, this Houston startup could redefine how, and where, we tap geothermal energy.
