Project InnerSpace Launches to Accelerate Geothermal Anywhere

Project Innerspace logo (source: Project Innerspace)

Carlo Cariaga 17 May 2022

Project InnerSpace (InnerSpace), a multi-phase initiative focused on accelerating global geothermal prospecting and development has launched. InnerSpace is directed by the InnerSpace Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to bringing interdisciplinary stakeholders together to enable development of geothermal energy anywhere in the world.

InnerSpace is being led by Jamie Beard, an internationally recognized leader in the ‘geothermal anywhere’ movement, with the support of Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt. InnerSpace will serve as driver and convener of two global geothermal innovation and deployment sprints aimed at engaging the oil and gas industry and innovative startups in geothermal resource prospecting and development within an accelerated time frame.

InnerSpace will also drive much-needed foundational studies that will inform its innovation sprints. The InnerSpace sprints will tackle specific obstacles to widespread geothermal development that are not efficiently addressed by standard organizational structures, and that would benefit society broadly in ways that industry cannot yet monetize. These include subsurface resource characterization to reduce pre-project risk, and funding for ‘first of their kind’ geothermal projects that are difficult to deploy utilizing existing funding mechanisms. By removing these obstacles through purposeful, targeted innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration, within this decade geothermal energy could be scaled into terawatts of output at a cost competitive with solar and wind.

To advance this vision, Schmidt Innovation Fellows, which identifies ideas to leverage technology in solving important societal challenges, will support Project InnerSpace, led by Jamie Beard. “Geothermal could play a much larger role in generating clean, affordable, abundant, and reliable energy,” said Tom Kalil, Schmidt Futures’ Chief Innovation Officer. “Our support aligns with Schmidt Futures’ mission to bet early on exceptional people making the world better, and inspire others with more resources to drive change at scale. We hope the private sector, philanthropy and policy-makers will work together to foster geothermal’s potential to increase production of renewable energy and create jobs.”

More at www.projectinnerspace.org.

About Project InnerSpace

Project InnerSpace (InnerSpace) is a multi-phase initiative focused on accelerating global geothermal prospecting and development. InnerSpace is directed by the InnerSpace Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to bringing interdisciplinary stakeholders together to enable the development of geothermal energy anywhere in the world. InnerSpace is led by Jamie Beard, an internationally recognized leader in the ‘geothermal anywhere’ movement, founder of the Geothermal Entrepreneurship Organization (GEO), the Texas Geothermal Institute (TGI), and the Pivot ‘From Hydrocarbons to Heat’ conference series. She serves on the Board of the Texas Geothermal Energy Alliance (TxGEA), an industry association focused on supporting the growth and development of geothermal in Texas. www.projectinnerspace.org

About Schmidt Futures:

Schmidt Futures bets early on exceptional people making the world better. Founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative that brings talented people together in networks to prove out their ideas and solve hard problems in science and society. To learn more about our method and the diverse types of capital and tools that we deploy, visit https://www.schmidtfutures.com.