Join Matt Houde, our Co-founder and Chief of Staff, for a behind-the-scenes look at the demonstration site and granite quarry where our team is conducting the first-ever field tests of millimeter wave drilling.
The granite quarry provides an ideal location to test and refine our technology in real-world conditions with minimal risk. Working directly in this challenging geology, our team is pushing the boundaries of accessing superhot geothermal — developing new methods to reach the extreme depths and temperatures needed to unlock the vast, untapped resource beneath our feet.
Recently, we achieved a record 100-meter milestone at this site, drilling at speeds 10x faster than previous demonstrations. As we look ahead, we’re also advancing toward another major milestone: the development of our first superhot geothermal power plant in the western United States.
At Quaise, we’re moving rapidly from microwaves in the ground to megawatts on the grid —reshaping the energy landscape and building a more sustainable future.
Video Transcript
This ash is evidence of the most transformative drilling technology in over 100 years, opening up the world’s largest source of stored energy: superhot geothermal.
We’re out here in the middle of Texas conducting the first-ever field tests of millimeter wave drilling, using high-power microwaves to spall, melt, and vaporize rock, resulting in this fine ash. Millimeter wave drilling is the only way to access superhot geothermal energy at depths and temperatures beyond the limits of conventional methods.
We’ve mobilized a compact rig from our Houston headquarters to this granite quarry outside of Austin. This granite quarry provides an ideal location to test millimeter wave drilling in a field environment.
Throughout most of the world, granite and other basement rocks are found kilometers underground. But right here, we’re standing on top of a 2-kilometer-deep body of granite, right near the surface. That means we can test our millimeter wave drill in relevant rock with minimal risk.
Recently, we reached our 100-meter milestone right here, a world record for millimeter wave drilling and an incredible pace of progress for a technology that was still confined to the lab only 8 months ago.
At this site we achieved drilling speeds 10x faster than our prior demonstrations earlier this year. And as these field tests progress, we’ll gradually drill deeper with new commercial-scale systems.
It all leads up to our first superhot geothermal power plant under development right now in the western United States: at Quaise, we’re rapidly moving from microwaves in the ground to megawatts on the grid.