Geothermal Weekly - #2
An overview of new geothermal technology and the status quo plus updates on projects, studies, and policy
🌋 Unlocking Superhot Geothermal: Magma Power’s Bold Energy Bet
Magma Power™ LLC has secured a U.S. patent for technology that taps extreme geothermal heat from superhot fluids and magma reservoirs, a shift that could supercharge renewable energy generation.
Why it matters: Traditional geothermal is limited to moderate heat reservoirs, capping energy output and restricting projects to specific areas. Magma Power’s system aims to unlock the potential of superhot rock (see critical or higher in the chart below) — capturing energy from resources with temperatures up to 5 times hotter and expanding viable regions for development.
How it works: Their advanced tech enables controlled, safe extraction from magma-adjacent heat zones, addressing risks like induced earthquakes that have historically stymied geothermal expansion. The potential result: lower infrastructure costs and faster paths to profitability.
The industry angle:
Geothermal hotspots: In the U.S., the Western states — including California, Nevada, and Oregon — show promising geothermal gradients, with magma sources closer to the surface. These regions are prime targets for deploying next-gen geothermal tech. We’ve provided a link to one map below showing the opportunity areas for superhot rock geothermal energy development and you can learn more about current geothermal development from this map from the US’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Competitive landscape: Companies like Fervo Energy and Quaise Energy are pursuing similar innovations in high-temperature geothermal. However, Magma Power’s emphasis on even deeper, hotter magma reservoirs could set it apart as a key player in renewable energy.
Big picture: The U.S. Department of Energy’s goal to boost geothermal capacity twenty-fold by 2050 could mean significant regulatory and funding support for technologies like this. Success here could unlock major investment opportunities.
What’s next: All eyes are on Magma Power’s upcoming field deployments to test scalability. Investors will likely watch energy output, cost efficiency, and safety outcomes as key indicators.
🌡️ Hot Highlights
New Project Announcements:
Vulcan Energy Resources wins €100M in funding from the German government to develop an energy project in the country’s Landau region. The HEAT4LANDAU project will develop generation, transport and supply capabilities of up to 255 MW of geothermal energy.
Ormat technologies has won a contract to develop the 101MW Te Mihi Stage 2 geothermal power plant in New Zealand in collaboration with Contact Energy. The project is anticipated to be operational by mid-2027.
Exergy signed an agreement to supply 43 MWe to Türkiye via 2 geothermal projects in the Aydin Region. They are expected to be commisioned by November 2025.
Novus Earth, in partnership with E2E Energy Solutions, is developing the Latitude 53 Hinton Inc. project in Alberta. The construction is expected to begin in early 2025 and will be in 2 phases. Phase 1 will focus on providing heat (50 GJ/hr) for a strawberry growing facility and the Phase 2 will focus on generating 10 MW of power.
Austin Energy expects to bring a new 5 mW geothermal project online in 2025.
New Studies:
Ireland is developing 5 shallow geothermal energy projects to derisk deployment of the resource and develop talent. The GEMINI Project will create a variety of community sites to demonstrate the resource’s flexibility.
Sage Geosystems is expanding its collaboration with the US Dept of Defense via a study to see the potential for geothermal baseload power generation at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi in Texas
New Policy Announcements:
The Japanese government is providing greater funding to derisk geothermal exploration. This is to support the nation’s expansion of geothermal output from current 600k kW to 1.5M kW by 2030.
The state of Mass., USA has passed a bill that “will limit gas pipeline expansion, make it easier to site and build renewables, and allow utilities to use geothermal energy.” It is likely to be signed by the governor soon and will represent a boon to geothermal innovation in the state.