Geothermal is too expensive, but Dig Energy's impossibly small drill rig might fix that | TechCrunch

"On a farm near Manchester, New Hampshire, I was recently treated to a gusher of dirty water, not exactly the sort of thing that most startups will show a reporter. But for Dig Energy, the mud is a feature, not a bug, of its compact drilling rig. The startup, which has been operating in stealth for the last five years, developed the water-jet drilling rig in an effort to make geothermal heating and cooling so inexpensive that it will displace fossil fuel boilers and furnaces."

"Heating and cooling represent about a third of all energy use in the U.S., and in data centers, the figure can be as high as 40%. Geothermal can slash HVAC energy use while also saving grid operators up to $4 billion annually. To help stabilize its creaking electrical grid, the U.S. needs to drill 6 million feet of geothermal borehole daily through 2050, according to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory."

Dig Energy developed a water-jet drilling rig during five years in stealth to dramatically lower upfront costs for geothermal heating and cooling. The rig promises to reduce drilling costs by up to 80% and is intended to make geothermal competitive with fossil-fuel boilers and furnaces. The company announced $5 million in seed funding led by Azolla Ventures and Avila VC with multiple participants. Heating and cooling account for a large share of U.S. energy use, and expanded geothermal deployment could cut HVAC energy and aid grid stability, but high upfront drilling costs have limited adoption. Dig focuses on shallow geothermal installations that reach hundreds of feet.

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