Sage Geosystems raises $17 million for Texas geothermal energy storage facility

Sage Geosystems raised $17 million in a Series A round to fully fund Earth Store, a 3MW commercial geothermal energy storage facility in Texas based on its Geopressured Geothermal System technology. The long-duration storage approach, which avoids lithium and offers a smaller above-ground footprint, is relevant to grid operators and renewable developers in India seeking baseload-capable storage.

Sage Geosystems raised $17 million in a Series A financing round to fully fund Earth Store, a 3MW commercial geothermal energy storage facility in Texas based on its Geopressured Geothermal System (GGS) technology. Founded in 2020 and based in Houston, the company makes geothermal energy more widely available at depths that can be economically drilled using existing oilfield expertise. GGS produces energy from pressurised water stored deep underground and can store energy for short and long durations to complement intermittent wind and solar.

Renewable energy operators and grid stakeholders are affected, as the technology enables baseload renewable energy by pairing geothermal storage with intermittent sources like solar and wind to ensure continuous power supply. Sage's approach offers advantages over current storage solutions including a lower above-ground footprint, avoidance of sustainability problems relating to materials like lithium, enhanced efficiency, and long-duration storage. The funding round was led by Chesapeake Energy, with participation from Arch Meredith, Helium-3 Ventures, Nabors Industries, Virya LLC, and Ignis Energy.

Stakeholders should monitor construction of the Earth Store facility, expected to begin in Q2 2024 with a planned commission date of Q4 2024, as a milestone for commercialising GGS technology. The CEO described the project as a key step toward Sage Geosystems becoming post-revenue and accelerating the proprietary geothermal baseload approach. Grid operators and renewable developers evaluating long-duration, non-lithium storage should track the facility's commissioning and performance as evidence of geothermal storage viability.

Key figure — Series A funding: $17 million for a 3MW Texas facility