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Birch Geothermal Launches With Oil Industry Techniques for Reservoir Design
@Forbes reported that Birch Geothermal began operations Friday as a Montauk Capital portfolio company. CEO Mike Matson plans to apply sensors, autonomous systems and oil-field methods to geothermal wells.
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Birch Geothermal launched Friday as a portfolio company of venture firm Montauk Capital. The company intends to use sensors and autonomous systems to control water flow through geothermal wells and to optimize reservoir design with methods first developed in the oil and gas sector. Mike Matson, CEO and cofounder, previously worked as a drilling and reservoir engineer at Kinder Morgan.
He later held executive positions at several greentech startups and served as geothermal lead at Boston Consulting Group. Matson said the approach aims to deliver steadier heat output and lower costs. @Forbes reported that electricity from geothermal remains more expensive than power from solar or natural gas.
Orders for natural gas turbines are backlogged by about five years, giving new geothermal projects a potential timing advantage. Fervo completed an IPO in May and now holds a $10 billion market cap. Geothermal is projected to supply roughly 8 percent of global electricity by 2050.
Most U.S. geothermal developers currently operate in Nevada and Utah, though Matson said opportunities exist across the Mountain West. Matson stated that demand exceeds the number of companies able to meet it, reducing the role of direct competition in the sector.
