Clean energy company XGS Energy announced today that it has raised $20 million, with proceeds aimed at accelerating the commercialization of its water-saving and low-cost geothermal technology.

California-based XGS Energy provides heat-harvesting technology to enable access to affordable and carbon-free geothermal energy. The company’s solution drills a single directional well to access rock with temperatures of 250 °C or higher, pulls heat into the well through a network of  thermally conductive material, uses the heat to heat water, which is then returned to the surface, where the heat can be used directly, or converted to electricity. Water is reused in a coaxial closed-loop system which makes the system more environmentally beneficial and deployable even where water is scarce.

According to XGS Energy, the benefits of the solution include a significantly lower dependence on water, operational cost savings due to minimal well maintenance and water requirements, and a longer operating lifetime compared to other geothermal assets.

The Series A financing is in addition to a recent $9.7 million round earlier this year, and a $14 million Series A investment last year. XGS Energy said that the proceeds will support the company’s first commercial-scale project in California later this year and accelerate deployment of its technology across its global pipeline of projects.

XGS CEO Josh Prueher said:

“We designed the XGS system to address the root causes preventing geothermal from achieving the same scale as solar, wind, and battery storage, that the market simply wasn’t addressing. When we listened to geothermal energy purchasers, financers, and communities, we heard meaningful concerns about the long-term performance, durability, and water consumption of geothermal energy projects.”

The final funding round was led by Valo Ventures and VoLo Earth Ventures, and included financing from new investors B Current Impact Investment, MIH Capital, and individual inside investors, as well as additional funding from existing investor Thin Line Capital.

Joe Goodman, Managing Partner at VoLo Earth Ventures, said:

“The XGS team combines world-class power development experience and decades of oil and gas experience to unlock geothermal resources anywhere on the Earth. We are excited to partner with XGS to accelerate its next-generation geothermal energy technology and drive a global terawatt-scale development opportunity.”