Team Startupcity

• Fervo Energy raises $206M to construct the world's largest enhanced geothermal facility in Utah.
• Supported by Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, Mercuria, and X-Caliber, the capital is for a 500 MW clean energy project.
• Startup achieves drilling milestone at 15,765 feet depth in 16 days with anticipated temperatures of 520°F.

Fervo Energy, a pioneer in geothermal innovation, reported it has raised $206 million in financing to move forward on its state-of-the-art geothermal power plant in Utah. The Cape Station plant will be the largest enhanced geothermal power project globally.

The plant's first phase is to come online in 2026, producing 100 megawatts of power. A second phase is to come online by 2028, adding 400 megawatts of capacity. Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), which access hotter, deeper reservoirs than traditional geothermal solutions, are a developing solution for clean, always-on power and particularly as AI data center and carbon-free infrastructure demand is escalating.

This funding round follows a technical achievement for Fervo. The company just finished its hottest and deepest geothermal well to date, hitting a 15,765-foot depth in 16 days. Bottomhole temperatures are forecasted to level out at approximately 520°F. Effective drilling is key, as it has a major influence on the cost and scalability of the geothermal industry overall.

Fervo's star performance has opened up new capital. The recent funding included $100 million of project-level preferred equity from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, the climate investment platform founded by Bill Gates. Mercuria, an earlier investor with a $120 million loan, provided another $60 million. Another $45.6 million came as bridge debt from X-Caliber Rural Capital affiliate.

This new capital comes on the heels of Fervo's February 2024 $244 million raise and December 2023 $255 million round, which used a combination of equity and debt. Liberty Energy, led by present-day U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, invested in Fervo in 2022.

The surge of large-scale debt and project finance is a sign that investor confidence is increasing that improved geothermal has passed the "valley of death" and is commercially feasible. With interest in clean baseload sources of energy heating up, Fervo is well-positioned to spearhead the next wave of zero-emissions power solutions.