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The startup Fervo Energy has reportedly filed for an IPO to help fund its build-out of next-generation geothermal projects.
Nearly a year after first floating the idea, the Houston-based Fervo submitted a confidential S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Axios Pro reported on Thursday. The startup has raised about $1.5 billion since 2017 as it works to build a 500-megawatt project in Utah — which would become the world’s largest “enhanced geothermal system” if completed as planned in 2028.
Fervo didn’t immediately return Canary Media’s requests for comment. When asked in December about a potential IPO, the company said by email, “We have a lot of capital needs going forward to fuel our planned growth and will be tapping a lot of different opportunities to make that happen.”
Fervo is at the fore of a fast-growing effort to unleash geothermal energy across the country. Geothermal represents only about 0.4% of total U.S. electricity generation, largely because existing technology is constrained by geography or challenging economics.
But new techniques developed by Fervo and its competitors are breathing fresh life into the century-old industry — and attracting significant funding as electricity demand soars, including from tech giants. Geothermal is also the rare form of clean energy to win acceptance from the Trump administration, which has spared the fledgling industry from the targeted policy attacks and sweeping funding cuts that it’s lobbed at wind and solar energy.
Thursday’s IPO news comes on the heels of two other major funding announcements this week from geothermal startups Zanskar and Sage Geosystems, both of which are pursuing unique approaches to harnessing Earth’s heat for providing clean, around-the-clock power.
On Wednesday, Zanskar said it raised $115 million in a Series C funding round led by Spring Lane Capital to develop its “gigawatt-scale pipeline” of projects. The Salt Lake City–based company uses AI and modern prospecting tools to identify naturally occurring reservoirs of hot water and steam that are hidden beneath the surface, without the visible signs — like vents and geysers — that typically help developers find hot spots.
Zanskar recently announced the discovery of one such geothermal system in western Nevada, which it says has the potential to produce more than 100 MW of electricity using traditional drilling technologies, marking a key proof point for the firm.
Meanwhile, Sage Geosystems said it closed over $97 million in Series B funding, in a round led by conventional geothermal giant Ormat Technologies and investment firm Carbon Direct Capital. The funding will support the build-out of Sage’s first commercial-scale project, to be located at one of Ormat’s existing power plants.
Sage’s approach to geothermal energy involves tapping into both heat and pressure from hot, dry rocks found deep underground. The company drills wells and fractures rocks to create artificial reservoirs that it pumps full of water. Sage then cycles the water in and out of the fracture and jettisons the liquid to the surface in order to drive turbines and produce electricity.
Fervo, for its part, also uses fracking tools to create artificial reservoirs for generating power. In 2023, the company hit a key milestone when it completed the world’s first commercial pilot system to use “enhanced” drilling methods. This 3.5-MW facility in Nevada was built with support from Google, which is also working with Fervo to develop 115 MW of geothermal energy to power the tech giant’s data centers in the state.
Now, along with the IPO filing, Fervo is gearing up to mark an even bigger achievement: completing the first 100 MW of its 500-MW Cape Station project in Utah and delivering power to the grid in October.
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