Geothermal energy usually requires finding specific spots with natural hot water bubbling underground. It’s a great power source, but you can’t put it just anywhere. Sage Geosystems wants to find a solution to that limitation. The company just closed a $97 million Series B funding round to build its first commercial facility.
Ormat Technologies and Carbon Direct Capital co-led the round. The goal is to take Sage’s “Pressure Geothermal” technology out of the lab and into the real world.
Engineering an Underground Reservoir
Here is the main difference with Sage’s approach. Instead of hunting for rare natural hydrothermal systems, they tap into hot, dry rock. This rock is found almost everywhere if you dig deep enough.
The technology creates an engineered underground reservoir. It uses the Earth’s natural heat and pressure to make hot water expand and contract, which generates power. According to Sage, this method unlocks significantly more potential than traditional geothermal, over 130 times more in the U.S. alone.
They are moving fast to prove it works. Sage will deploy its first commercial facility at an existing Ormat power plant. This partnership helps them skip the long setup times usually associated with new energy projects.
“Pressure Geothermal is designed to be commercial, scalable, and deployable almost anywhere,” said Cindy Taff, CEO of Sage Geosystems. “This Series B allows us to prove that at commercial scale, reflecting strong conviction from partners who understand both the urgency of energy demand and the criticality of firm power.”
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Scaling Geothermal Energy
A big driver behind this funding is the massive energy appetite of AI data centers. Tech giants need “firm power,” energy that runs 24/7 without weather interruptions. Solar and wind can’t always promise that, but geothermal can.
Additionally, Sage announced a partnership with Meta back in August 2024 to deliver up to 150 MW of power for their data centers. Investors see this as a key solution for the tech industry’s growing power bill.
“Enhanced Geothermal Systems (“EGS”) are extremely well-positioned to deliver for hyperscalers, who want clean firm power for their AI computing needs,” said Jonathan Goldberg, CEO at Carbon Direct Capital. “Sage’s pressurized EGS technology is advantaged on both economic and environmental evaluation criteria.”
Doron Blachar, CEO of Ormat Technologies, called the investment a “natural next step in a partnership we believe strongly in.”
