Milestones
- Horizontal well pair drilled2022Complete.
- 30-day flow test completedJul 2023Complete.
- Grid power deliveredNov 2023Complete.
Most important updates
- Nov 2023
- 18 Jul 2023
Current obstacles
- Small scaleAt a few MW, Red proves the idea but isn't an economic plant; its cost lessons must carry over to Cape.
Physics limits
- Rock conducts heat slowlyGranite-like rock conducts only about 3 W per metre per kelvin, so heat returns to cooled fracture surfaces slowly and each well pair's output declines over the years.
- Water takes the easiest pathIf one fracture carries most of the flow, water bypasses the rest of the rock and that path cools early (thermal short-circuit), cutting output well before the rock is used up.
- Pressure can slip faultsInjecting water raises pressure in rock pores, which can let stressed faults slip and cause small earthquakes; this caps injection pressures and rates.
How it works
Two wells drilled sideways
One well goes down about 2.3 km and turns horizontal for roughly 1 km; a second runs parallel to it, using shale-oil drilling methods.
Cracks connect the pair
Water pumped at high pressure opens fractures between the wells, creating paths through rock at about 185 °C.
Fibre optics watch the flow
Fibre-optic cables along the wells sense temperature and strain, showing which fractures carry water and heat.
About 3.5 MW to the grid
Water goes down one well, heats up, returns through the other and drives a binary turbine feeding NV Energy's grid for Google.
Papers & demos
- Jul 2023paperCommercial-scale demonstration of a first-of-a-kind enhanced geothermal system (Project Red) (opens eartharxiv.org)A 30-day test pulled ~60 L/s of 191 °C water from sideways EGS wells, the key proof of concept.
Update log
Nov 2023
- Minor: BlogCommercial
Tue 18 Jul 2023
- Major: PressTest
About Fervo Energy
Fervo Energy
Enhanced geothermal, horizontal drilling, Cape Station
Uses oil-and-gas drilling methods to create geothermal reservoirs in hot, dry rock. Its Cape Station in Utah reached first power in September 2026, the first utility-scale enhanced geothermal plant to do so. Listed on Nasdaq in May 2026.
- Cape Station made first power on 24 Sept 2026; ~100 MW Phase I aims for commercial operation from 1 Oct 2026.
- Project Red in Nevada proved the idea in 2023, sending ~3.5 MW to the grid.
- Went public on Nasdaq in May 2026; buyers include Southern California Edison and Google.
- Founded
- 20179 yrs
- Headquarters
- United States
- Status
- Public
- Listed
- FRVO (opens google.com)NASDAQ
- Valuation
- public
- Works in
- EnergyGeothermal
- Coverage
- 2 programs · 12 updateslatest 16d agochecked 25 Sep
- Investors
- Devon Energy (opens devonenergy.com)Breakthrough Energy Ventures (opens breakthroughenergy.org)
- People
- Tim Latimer (opens fervoenergy.com)Co-founder & CEOJack Norbeck (opens fervoenergy.com)Co-founder & CTO