SMECI 3 MW Pilot by Sage Geosystems: status and timeline

SMECI 3 MW Pilot

A 3 MW geopressured EGS facility in South Texas (SMECI) that circulates fluid through engineered subsurface reservoirs to extract heat and deliver thermal energy and power.

DeployStage 4 of 5

Completed 120+ days of continuous subsurface operations, demonstrating core technology at commercial scale.

Updated Aug 2024Checked 10 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Project Vector drilling begins

First wells drilled2024Complete.
120+ days sustained operations2026Complete.
Thermal and pressure data validated2026Complete.

Most important updates

Upcoming

Q4 2026Project Vector drilling begins (next)
2027Project Vector first electricity
2028Project Vector full-scale production

Current obstacles

Cost per MW must fall to compete with gasDrilling and equipment costs must be reduced to match the levelized cost of natural gas combined-cycle plants.
Scaling subsurface engineeringEach site requires custom geologic characterization and well design; repeatable, low-cost drilling must be proven across multiple sites.

Physics limits

Geothermal gradients limit depth economic viabilityHeat increases with depth (~25°C per km on average). To reach usable temperatures (>150°C), wells must be deep, raising drilling costs that limit economical depth to around 3–5 km.
Thermal drawdown over decadesLong-term circulation of cooler fluid through hot rock gradually lowers the reservoir temperature. Over 30–50 years, sustained power output may decline unless wells are carefully spaced and managed.

How it works

3 parts

Circulation

Pumped heat transfer in engineered rock

Cool fluid down one well absorbs heat from rock, hot fluid extracts via second well for power generation.

Geopressured advantage

Pressure aids extraction

Deeper geopressured formations (sandstone, shale, clay) maintain high pressure and temperature, improving circulation and heat transfer.

Subsurface performance

Proven well integrity under stress

SMECI validated 120+ days of sustained flow and heat recovery with reliable well integrity.

Spec sheet

Spec	SMECI 3 MW Pilot
Capacity	3 MW^R (reported)
Continuous operations achieved	120+ days^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

2 updates

Aug 2024

Major: Sage Geosystems raises $45M in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz and othersPressFunding

Feb 2024

Major: Sage Geosystems raises $17M Series A to build first commercial 3 MW geopressured geothermal facility in TexasPressFunding

About Sage Geosystems

The team behind SMECI 3 MW Pilot

Sage Geosystems

Geopressured EGS, pressure geothermal, data centre power

Sage Geosystems develops geopressured Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) that generate power and energy storage from hot rock without traditional geothermal reservoirs. The Houston startup is deploying pressure circulation technology in Texas and Nevada for baseload power to data centers.

SMECI 3 MW pilot in South Texas completed 120+ days of operations, validating geopressured EGS technology.
Ormat co-led $97M Series B in January 2026. Project Vector partnership at Blue Mountain, Nevada announced September 2026.
Meta signed 150 MW geothermal power agreement in August 2024; first phase operational 2027.

sagegeosystems.com (opens sagegeosystems.com)Company profile →

Founded: 20206 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Private
Valuation: $500Mest. privateJan 2026estimate
Raised: $159M3 rounds
Last round: Series B · $97MJan 2026
Works in: EnergyGeothermal
Coverage: 2 programs · 5 updateslatest 19d agochecked 10 Oct
Lead investors: Ormat TechnologiesCarbon Direct CapitalAndreessen HorowitzChesapeake Energy Corporation
Customers: Meta (opens sagegeosystems.com)San Miguel Electric Cooperative (opens smec.coop)
Partners: Ormat Technologies (opens ormat.com)U.S. Department of Defense (opens defense.gov)
People: Cindy Taff (opens linkedin.com)CEOLev RingCo-founderLance CookCo-founder

Spec

SMECI 3 MW Pilot

Capacity

3 MW^R (reported)

Continuous operations achieved

120+ days^R (reported)