By: Jeff Johnson, Karly Wentz, Nate Johnson and Eric Brook

 

B Capital is proud to partner with Fervo Energy, the leading developer of next-generation geothermal power, delivering 24/7, carbon free electricity at scale. Fervo Energy applies proven oil and gas drilling and subsurface techniques to unlock scalable geothermal development, enabling Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) that materially expand where and how geothermal power can be deployed.

 

AI and Electricity Demand Are Driving the Next Wave of Power Infrastructure

U.S. power demand is accelerating at an unprecedented rate as AI-driven compute scales and more sectors electrify. Data centers, industrial facilities, and utilities require clean, high-uptime power sources that can be delivered on compressed timelines to meet projected load growth.

The set of solutions capable of meeting these requirements is narrow. Many alternatives face long permitting timelines, integration and interconnection challenges, or deployment schedules that are too slow for near-term demand. Speed, reliability, and cost have become critical.

Fervo Energy directly addresses this gap. By delivering clean, firm power with short development timelines – and its first commercial-scale project scheduled to come online in 2026 – Fervo Energy is positioned to supply capacity faster and more competitively than most alternatives available today. Combined with improving cost curves and growing regulatory and bipartisan support for geothermal, EGS is emerging as one of the few scalable solutions aligned with the grid’s immediate needs.

 

Why is EGS the Solution?

Geothermal energy is a long-established power source that converts the earth’s natural heat into electricity through wells drilled into hot subsurface rock. Historically, the deployment of geothermal energy depended on a narrow set of natural conditions, where high temperatures, permeable rock, and accessible water reservoirs naturally coexist. Once those sites were fully developed, growth in the geothermal space was increasingly constrained by site availability, rather than by demand.

This is increasingly misaligned with the growing electricity demand we see today. As AI and electrification push electricity demand higher, the grid requires significant sources of clean, reliable power that can be built near population and data center hubs. Traditional geothermal could only be developed in a few geologically ideal locations. EGS addresses this challenge by using established drilling and subsurface engineering techniques to create geothermal reservoirs where heat already exists. This meaningfully expands the sites appropriate for reservoir creation, fundamentally changing the scale and accessibility of geothermal power.

Conventional geothermal in the United States supports an estimated ~40 GW of potential capacity, constrained to rare locations with naturally favorable reservoirs – of which only ~4 GW is currently operating today.¹ By contrast, EGS unlocks an estimated 5,500 GW+ of potential capacity by enabling development wherever hot rock exists, which is nearly ubiquitous.^2,3 This expands the resource by orders of magnitude, transforming geothermal into a scalable baseload infrastructure that can be developed at a competitive cost on faster timelines, and where the grid needs energy most.

Furthermore, early field pilots demonstrate that EGS scalability is driven by repeatable execution and iteration over time, rather than geology alone. As drilling programs are standardized and wells are developed in sequence, performance improves and costs decline. This execution-driven learning curve positions geothermal to compete on both reliability and economics as deployment scales.

 

Why We Believe in Fervo Energy

As one of the first to demonstrate the viability of EGS at commercial scale, Fervo Energy is defining a new model for geothermal development grounded in repeatability, standardization, and data-driven execution. Fervo Energy anticipates its flagship development, Cape Station in Utah, will deliver 100 MW of clean, firm power beginning in 2026, with a path to 500 MW by 2028 – demonstrating both predictable performance and an attractive cost profile.

Fervo Energy stands out as the clear leader in EGS today, backed by early evidence across customer demand, field execution, and industry partnerships:

1. Clear and growing demand for clean, firm power: Fervo Energy has secured long-term agreements with hyperscale customers, reflecting strong demand. Public commitments, including Fervo Energy’s 115 MW power purchase agreement with Google and NV Energy, demonstrate how demand for reliable, carbon-free power is being secured through long-duration contracts.
2. Proven subsurface execution and reservoir development: Fervo Energy has successfully drilled horizontal geothermal wells using controlled fracture stimulation and permanent fiber-optic sensing, demonstrating repeatable execution across multiple drilling cycles. Its early commercial pilot, Project Red, showed meaningful technical progress, including drilling speeds that more than doubled relative to prior efforts, with third-party validation. At Cape Station, the company continues to improve drilling times and operational efficiency with each successive well.
3. Best-in-class industry partnerships: Early collaboration with Devon Energy and Liberty Energy has strengthened Fervo Energy’s access to drilling expertise, equipment, and subsurface talent, further validating and accelerating its approach to scaling EGS.

We have followed Fervo Energy since first meeting Tim Latimer (CEO and Founder) in the Company’s early days. Over time, it has become clear that Fervo Energy’s technical progress reflects the experience and rigor of the team, as the work has progressed from early academic research to tackling one of the most important opportunities in the modern American energy space at scale.

Tim began his career as a drilling engineer at BHP Billiton, working across complex programs in the Permian and Eagle Ford basins, before earning an MBA and a master’s degree focused on energy and climate at Stanford. Jack Norbeck (CTO and Co-Founder) brings deep geothermal and reservoir engineering expertise shaped by hands-on work at Calpine’s Geysers field, research roles at the U.S. Geological Survey and Berkeley Lab, and a PhD in Energy Resources Engineering from Stanford, while David Ulrey (CFO) adds seasoned infrastructure finance leadership from energy capital markets and long-duration power project finance, along with prior roles in the U.S. Army and at National Oilwell Varco (NOV). Together, the team has demonstrated repeatable subsurface execution across pilots and early commercial development, reinforcing that they are the right team to scale EGS technology.

 

Conclusion

At B Capital, we believe the next decade of power markets will be defined by clean, firm generation that can be delivered with both speed and predictable economics. As investors with deep expertise across energy infrastructure and AI-driven compute, we focus on backing companies that enable the physical infrastructure required to support rising electricity demand, particularly as AI-driven load growth places new strain on power systems globally.

Fervo Energy sits at the center of this shift. By making geothermal a repeatable, scalable resource, the company has the potential to unlock gigawatts of clean, firm power capable of supporting industrial load centers and hyperscale compute. We are proud to partner with Fervo Energy as enhanced geothermal enters its next chapter at grid scale.

The investment was led by Jeff Johnson (General Partner, Head of Energy & Resilience Tech at B Capital), alongside Karly Wentz (Partner, Energy & Resilience Tech), with investment team members Nate Johnson and Eric Brook.

 

 

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER
All information is as of 12.3.2025 and subject to change. The investment discussed herein is a portfolio company of B Capital; however, such investment does not represent all B Capital investments. Certain statements reflected herein reflect the subjective opinions and views of B Capital personnel. Such statements cannot be independently verified and are subject to change. Reference to third-party firms or businesses does not imply affiliation with or endorsement by such firms or businesses. It should not be assumed that any investments or companies identified and discussed herein were or will be profitable. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The information herein does not constitute or form part of an offer to issue or sell, or a solicitation of an offer to subscribe or buy, any securities or other financial instruments, nor does it constitute a financial promotion, investment advice or an inducement or incitement to participate in any product, offering or investment. Much of the relevant information is derived directly from various sources which B Capital believes to be reliable, but without independent verification. This information is provided for reference only and the companies described herein may not be representative of all relevant companies or B Capital investments. You should not rely upon this information to form the definitive basis for any decision, contract, commitment or action. Any forward-looking statements are based solely on information provided by the company or on publicly available data and reflect the views of the authors as of the date of publication.

SOURCE

1. S. Department of Energy, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Next-Generation Geothermal Power, March 2024.
2. S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Electricity Existing Capacity by Energy Source, 2024.
3. S. Department of Energy, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Next-Generation Geothermal Power, March 2024.