MIT Spinoff Unleashes Geothermal Gyrotron On Fossil Fuels

The article discusses a shift in the U.S. energy landscape where geothermal energy is emerging as a promising baseload power source amid federal efforts to protect domestic fossil fuel industries by limiting wind and solar growth. While the administration emphasizes baseload power—constant 24/7 electricity generation—to favor coal and oil, it also supports other baseload resources including nuclear, biomass, hydropower, and geothermal. However, nuclear and biomass face challenges such as high costs and supply constraints, and hydropower is limited by siting opportunities. This leaves geothermal energy, traditionally confined to specific western U.S. locations due to natural geological requirements, as a key area of innovation. Recent advances in geothermal technology, particularly by companies like MIT spinoff Quaise Energy, are overcoming these limitations by using drilling techniques adapted from the oil and gas industry to create optimal geothermal conditions where none naturally exist. Quaise has secured $21 million in funding to develop its unique millimeter wave drilling system that uses a powerful gyrotron