Fervo Energy raising $221M for geothermal projects

Geothermal energy developer Fervo Energy is raising $221 million in new funding, per an SEC filing.

Big picture: The Houston-based startup uses drilling tech from oil and gas sectors to generate electricity from hot rock deep beneath the earth's surface.

• Geothermal energy production accounted for just 0.4% of electricity generation in the U.S. in 2022.
• But that share is rapidly growing, especially as tech companies look to geothermal as a source of around-the-clock clean energy for power-hungry data centers.

The latest: Fervo said in an SEC filing that it's raised about $138.5 million toward a targeted $221 million.

• The company began reaching out to investors in late 2023, people familiar with the raise tell Axios.

The round follows a $138 million Series C that Fervo raised in 2022.

• DCVC led that round, joined by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, Liberty Energy, Macquarie, Grantham Foundation, Impact Science Ventures and Prelude Ventures.

Of note: CEO Tim Latimer declined to comment.

What's next: Fervo is building a 5-MW site in Nevada to support Google data centers and infrastructure.

• It's also constructing a site to supply 40 MW to East Bay Community Energy in California.