Can a Geothermal Startup Drill the Deepest Holes Ever?

Summary

WSJ Tech News Briefing: Can a Geothermal Startup Drill the Deepest Holes Ever?

Release Date: March 7, 2025
Host: Charlotte Gartenberg
Producer: Jess Jupiter
Contributors: Callum Borchers (WSJ Columnist), Benoit Morin (WSJ Reporter)

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1. Introduction

In this episode of the WSJ Tech News Briefing, Charlotte Gartenberg explores two pivotal topics shaping the technology and energy landscapes. The discussion begins with a shift in parental guidance away from traditional STEM fields towards the arts, influenced by the evolving job market and advancements in artificial intelligence. The episode then delves into the groundbreaking efforts of Quaise Energy, a geothermal startup aiming to revolutionize renewable energy by drilling unprecedentedly deep into the Earth's crust.

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2. Shifting Career Advice: From STEM to the Arts

Segment Host: Callum Borchers
Timestamp: [00:23] – [05:38]

For generations, parents have encouraged their children to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields, believing these careers promised prosperity and stability. However, recent technological advancements, particularly in artificial intelligence and automation, have begun to disrupt this traditional outlook.

Key Insights:

• Increase in STEM Degrees: Callum Borchers highlights a significant rise in computer science graduates, noting that bachelor’s degrees in the field have nearly tripled since 2009. This surge was initially driven by the perception that tech careers were secure and lucrative.

  “From when I was in college, not that long ago, Charlotte, I mean, 2009, we had 37 or so thousand computer science degrees coming out from bachelor's programs. That number has almost tripled since then.”
  — Callum Borchers [01:59]

• Reevaluation Due to Industry Shifts: Despite the growth in STEM fields, recent layoffs and market volatility in the tech sector have prompted parents to reconsider the safety and long-term viability of these careers for their children.

  “They're second guessing that plan for their own little ones now.”
  — Callum Borchers [02:48]

• Encouraging Passion Over Pragmatism: A growing number of parents are now advising their children to pursue fields they are passionate about, even if those fields lie outside traditional STEM areas. This shift emphasizes personal fulfillment and adaptability over perceived job security.

  “...If I have a daughter someday who says I want to grow up and be an author, I'm going to say, okay, great.”
  — Callum Borchers [02:50]

• Practical Fallbacks: Some parents advocate for a blend of interests, encouraging their children to pursue arts while also maintaining skills in areas unlikely to be automated, such as music or dance.

  “...make sure you keep up with your dance lessons and your vocal lessons. I look at the woman who runs your dance studio and she seems to earn a pretty good living. And oh, by the way, I think that the robot isn't coming for her job.”
  — Callum Borchers [04:49]

Conclusion: The episode underscores a significant paradigm shift in parental guidance, moving from a rigid emphasis on STEM to a more balanced approach that values personal interests and the inherently human aspects of creativity and the arts.

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3. Geothermal Innovation: Quaise Energy's Ambitious Drilling Technology

Segment Host: Benoit Morin
Timestamp: [05:47] – [11:35]

As the world grapples with the urgent need for sustainable energy sources, geothermal power emerges as a promising yet underutilized option. Benoit Morin delves into the innovations brought forth by Quaise Energy, a startup poised to transform the geothermal landscape.

Understanding Geothermal Power:

• Definition and Current Use: Geothermal energy harnesses the Earth's internal heat to generate electricity. While it accounts for approximately 0.3% of U.S. power generation, its potential remains largely untapped due to geographical and economic limitations.

  “It's energy that you produce by harnessing natural heat in the ground... It only amounts to about 0.3% of US power generation.”
  — Benoit Morin [06:19]

• Challenges: Traditional geothermal energy extraction is confined to regions with natural heat reservoirs, such as Northern California or volcanic regions like Indonesia and the Philippines. Drilling beyond depths of one to two kilometers becomes exponentially more expensive and technically challenging.

Quaise Energy's Innovative Approach:

• Ambitious Drilling Depths: Quaise Energy aims to drill up to 12 miles (approximately 19 kilometers) deep, significantly surpassing existing geothermal wells. This depth could unlock vast geothermal resources previously inaccessible due to technological and financial constraints.

  “They [Quaise Energy] say that it's developed this technology that can make it much easier and cheaper to drill down to incredible depth... up to 12 miles.”
  — Benoit Morin [07:37]

• Millimeter Wave Drilling Technology: The startup employs a novel technique utilizing a gyrotron—a device originally developed by the Soviets in the 1960s and now used in fusion research—to vaporize rock. By directing electromagnetic energy at high temperatures (around 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit), Quaise can efficiently melt and drill through hard rock formations.

  “Their secret weapon is a gyrotron... they use energy beams, not lasers, but masers with an M to vaporize rock.”
  — Benoit Morin [08:42]

Pros and Cons:

• Advantages:

  • Depth and Cost Efficiency: The ability to drill deeper at a rate of approximately 11.5 feet per hour could make geothermal energy viable in a broader range of locations.
  • Exponential Energy Output: Deeper wells have access to hotter rocks, potentially providing significantly more energy.

  “The pros is that you get to drill super deep at a relatively affordable cost... you get a lot of power out of it.”
  — Benoit Morin [09:50]

• Challenges:

  • Unproven Technology: This drilling method has never been implemented on such a scale, posing risks related to feasibility and safety.

  “The cons is just that it's never been done ever before.”
  — Benoit Morin [10:32]

Market Timing and Support:

• High Demand for Reliable Power: With the rise of AI data centers and hyperscalers like Microsoft and Meta requiring consistent, 24/7 power, geothermal energy presents a reliable alternative to intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind.

• Political and Financial Backing: Both the Biden and Trump administrations have shown support for expanding geothermal energy. Quaise Energy benefits from this political climate, along with significant investor interest.

  “So the CEO of Quaise is very hopeful that they will find support with this current administration.”
  — Benoit Morin [10:34]

Conclusion: Quaise Energy stands at the forefront of geothermal innovation, leveraging advanced drilling technologies to potentially unlock a vast and reliable renewable energy source. Their success could mark a significant milestone in the global transition to sustainable power.

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4. Closing Remarks

Charlotte Gartenberg wraps up the episode by acknowledging the efforts of the production team and directing listeners to additional resources, such as the Future of Everything podcast episode on geothermal energy. The briefing underscores the dynamic interplay between technological advancements and evolving societal priorities, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

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Notable Contributors:

• Callum Borchers: WSJ Columnist on evolving career trends.
• Benoit Morin: WSJ Reporter specializing in energy innovations.

Production Team:

• Producer: Jess Jupiter
• Supporting Staff: Julie Chang, Jessica Fenton, Michael Lavall, Kathryn Millsop, Aisha Al Muslim, Scott Salloway, Chris Zinsley, Falana Patterson

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from the episode, providing a detailed overview for listeners and those interested in the latest developments in technology and renewable energy.

Transcript

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[Charlotte Gartenberg]

3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month Required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail] welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Friday, March 7th. I'm Charlotte Gartenberg for the Wall Street Journal. For at least a generation, steering kids into STEM fields has felt like guiding them towards certain prosperity. But as bots replace entry level software writers and even take on certain surgical tasks, some science and tech professionals are doing the once unthinkable. WSJ columnist Callum Borchers tells us about the surprising career advice they're giving their kids then geothermal energy, the heat from the earth that can be used to generate electricity, could provide clean and renewable power. But accessing that energy deep underground can be challenging. Now a startup called Quaise Energy is banking on President Trump's support for geothermal. WSJ reporter Benoit Morin tells us about Quaise's futuristic tech and how it's aiming to drill the deepest hole ever. But first, it's the age of artificial intelligence. But some parents who work on tech's cutting edge are encouraging their kids to pursue a different career path. Their advice? Go into the arts. Our columnist Callum Borchers tells us about this change in parental guidance. Callum in order for us to get a sense of how much of a shift this might be, I want to start with to what extent do people seem to view tech as the career ticket?

[Callum Borchers]

Generally, the biggest indicator I see is just how many more degrees we see conferred in computer science. From when I was in college, not that long ago, Charlotte, I mean, 2009, we had 37 or so thousand computer science degrees coming out from bachelor's programs. That number has almost tripled since then. And so it's not just that kids all of a sudden develop this newfound interest in computer science. A big part of it is thinking, well, that's where the jobs are. And it would be hard to say that those people or their parents have been wrong in recent years, except for maybe just the last couple very recent years where we see a spate of layoffs in the tech sector. And for the people who were maybe part of that generation, the millennial parents who now have kids of their own. Maybe they went into tech because they thought that's gonna be the safe, smart, lucrative career. They're second guessing that plan for their own little ones now.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

All right, so then what's the advice now?

[Callum Borchers]

Well, it sounds kind of corny, but from a lot of the parents I talked to, it was just follow what you're interested in and what you're good at. Because it' a fool's errand to try to predict what the job market or the hot job is going to be 10, 15, 20 years from now. I talked to a woman named Jeannie Chung, for example. She's 32, said she wanted to major in English and write fiction. And her parents were like, there's no money in the liberal arts, honey. You should do something science Y. So that's what she did. She works in AI now, but she's like, if I have a daughter someday who says I want to grow up and be an author, I'm going to say, okay, great.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

How widespread is this shift? Like, to me, it's kind of intuitive as an individual, from the singular point of view that I have that, like, you know, follow what you're interested in. The fallback plan is not the same as it was, but I'm only one person. How widespread is this?

[Callum Borchers]

We'll see if the major selections change dramatically in the coming years to figure out how widespread the shift really is. But it's interesting talking to the parents who really try to keep their finger on the pulse of where are the jobs going as they try to give some guidance to their kids. Rajeev Modumba, who I spoke with, said he was very strategic about his own career selection when he moved here from India in the early aughts. He said coding wasn't really my cup of tea, but I could see that tech was where everything was going at that time. And he's one of those dads who said, I encouraged my kids to learn Python and programming languages when they were young, thinking like, that's the hot skill that they're gonna need now. He's got a girl who's a high school junior, she's looking at colleges, thinks she wants to major in biology. And he's not exactly telling her no, but he is saying, hey, make sure you keep up with your dance lessons and your vocal lessons. I look at the woman who runs your dance studio and she seems to earn a pretty good living. And oh, by the way, I think that the robot isn't coming for her job. So I'm just tickled by this idea that dads with teens who dream of science careers are telling them to be practical, honey, and make sure you study music, too, as a fallback plan. It's so backwards from what we've heard for so long.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

That was WSJ columnist Callum Borchers. Coming up, could a beam of electromagnetic energy traveling at the speed of light dig the deepest human made holes ever? How one geothermal startup is hoping to tap energy sources deep underground. After the break.

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[Charlotte Gartenberg]

A startup called Quaise Energy is deploying new technology to vaporize rock and access geothermal heat miles and miles underground. Although geothermal amounts to less than 1% of U.S. power generation, the sector has seen technological advances that have caught the attention of governments and investors. For more on this, we're joined by WSJ reporter Benoit Morin. Benoit, since we're going to be talking about a geothermal power company, give us a refresher. What is geothermal power? How does it work?

[Benoit Morin]

Well, geothermal power is renewable energy alongside solar and wind. It's not as known, I guess, guess to the public because it's hard to scale. It's energy that you produce by harnessing natural heat in the ground. Some buildings use it for heating. So it's been around for a while. It only amounts to about 0.3% of US power generation, though, and that's because there are only so many places in the US where you can drill geothermal wells and not break the bank. Once you get down to certain depth to tap into pockets of heat, heat reservoirs, it gets really expensive. So up to this point, companies have looked at places like Northern California where you have this natural reservoir and where you have one of the largest geothermal developments in the world. And if you look outside of the US that would be developed in places that have lots of volcanoes and lots of heat. So that would be Indonesia, for instance, or the Philippines. That's been the situation with geothermal, which is that it's a great source of power, 24.7reliable, but it's been pretty expensive to go outside of those locales where you can find that power.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

Okay you focused on one geothermal startup in particular here. What is Quaise aiming to do?

[Benoit Morin]

So this is a geothermal company that has a very ambitious goal to bring geothermal power to the masses, as it were. Sort of realized that you could borrow technology from the oil and gas world, apply it to geothermal, and work with these guys to break this new ground. The issue with geothermal is that you can only do it where heat is readily accessible under the Earth's surface. And usually that takes you to about one or two kilometers, and then it starts to get very expensive and hard if you want to get further down because the rock is hotter and hotter. But Quaise says that it's developed this technology that can make it much easier and cheaper to drill down to incredible depth. You know, up to 12 miles is. Is how deep they say they want to drill, which they say would help unlock geothermal across the globe.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

We spoke with Quai's co founder and CEO, Carlos Araque, just over a year ago on our Future of Everything podcast. Here's what he said about the company's drilling technique.

[Benoit Morin]

We talk about millimeter wave drilling. It's basically using ideas from fusion research. We use energy beams, not lasers, but masers with an M to vaporize rock.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

Benoit, go into a bit more depth for me here. How does Quasi's technique work?

[Benoit Morin]

Their secret weapon is a gyrotron. Think of it essentially as a big, very expensive microwave. We have to go back to the Soviets for its origin story, because it was invented by the Soviets in the 60s, and now it's widely used in fusion labs around the world. And that's because those devices can heat hydrogen plasma to temperatures measured in millions of degrees Celsius. So Quaise is repurposing that machine to aim it not at plasma, but at very, very hard rock that it just plants to vaporize, to melt in order to drill.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

So it heats the stone to around 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. We're still at numbers that are unimaginable to me. What are the pros and cons of this technique?

[Benoit Morin]

The pros is that you get to drill super deep at a relatively affordable cost. So you could drill, according to the company, at a rate of about 11.5ft an hour. At that rate, it would take you between six and seven months to get to maybe 12 miles deep. The deeper you get, the harder it gets. That means that you can develop exponentially more energy out of that geothermal well. So it's a good proposition from a business perspective. It might be pricey, but you get a lot of power out of it. The cons is just that it's never been done ever before.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

Why are we seeing this startup now?

[Benoit Morin]

It's a good time to be in geothermal right now. There's such a crazy need for power coming from, among others, AI data centers, those hyperscalers, the Microsoft and Meta of the world that companies like Quaize find this propitious environment to develop that sort of technology because they can provide, if that works, 24. 7 power, which is what those data centers need to run around the clock. And that needs to be firm, that needs to be reliable. So that's why you've seen a bunch of geothermal startups raise a lot of money in the past few years and you have the support politically from this Trump administration. The Biden administration was very keen on trying to make geothermal a bigger part of the energy pie. And the Trump administration is no different. The Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, has been very supportive of the technology. So the CEO of Quaise is very hopeful that they will find support with this current administration.

[Charlotte Gartenberg]

That was our reporter, Benoit Morin. And be sure to check out our Future of Everything podcast episode, all about geothermal energy. We've linked it in our show notes. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. Today's show was produced by Jess Jupiter. I'm your host, Charlotte Gartenberg. Additional support this week from Julie Chang, Jessica Fenton and Michael Lavall wrote our theme music. Our supervising producer is Kathryn Millsop. Our development producer is Aisha Al Muslim. Scott Salloway and Chris Zinsley are the deputy editors. And Falana Patterson is the Wall Street Journal's head of news audio. We'll be back this afternoon with TNB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.

[Callum Borchers]

It.