In 2025, enhanced geothermal systems advanced from demonstration to commercial-scale deployment, supported by continued improvements in drilling and well performance. New pilots exceeding 330 °C enabled breakthroughs towards accessing superheated or supercritical resources, an important frontier for geothermal power generation.
Key advances
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Horizontal, multistage enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) demonstrate reproducible high flow rates and stable thermal output and highlight progress towards larger scale commercial EGS facilities3,4.
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Advanced drilling in crystalline rock and plug-and-perforate completions increase per-well power output.
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Targeting multiple reservoir temperature benches allows more energy extraction from the same surface footprint, achieving power densities of approximately 30 MW km–2 (ref. 5).
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The successful hydraulic fracturing and circulation test of a 331 °C EGS reservoir at Newberry shows progress in accessing supercritical resources within the brittle-to-ductile transition zone9.
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References
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support by the US Department of Energy, Office of Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy (HGEO), Geothermal Technologies Office, under award number DE-AC02–05CH11231 with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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J.N. and A.B. work for companies that are involved in the commercial development of EGS projects (Fervo and Mazama Energy, respectively). E.S. and M.V. declare no competing interests.
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Schill, E., Bonneville, A., Norbeck, J. et al. Unlocking larger flow and higher temperature with enhanced geothermal systems innovation in 2025. Nat. Rev. Clean Technol. 2, 17–18 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44359-025-00143-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44359-025-00143-0
