Geothermal supplies just 0.4% of the world’s energy today, but it could potentially supply up to 50% of the world’s energy by 2050, according to Carlos Araque, cofounder and CEO of Quaise Energy, who made that prediction at the SOSV Climate Tech Summit 2022 last week during a panel discussion called, “Is this geothermal’s moment?”
Geothermal’s profound impact
Quaise is developing a drilling technique that was pioneered at MIT to reach the hot rock some two to 12 miles beneath the Earth’s surface. Araque was joined by Kathy Hannun, cofounder and president of US residential geothermal company Dandelion Energy. The Dandelion process uses established technology that doesn’t require such deep drilling.
Araque and Hannun went on to not only describe the biggest barriers to scaling up their businesses for the world but also what other geothermal problems they are “itching for people to solve,” according to moderator Candice Ammori, founder of The Climate Vine, which advises climate tech startups.
First, however, the two described why geothermal is so potentially impactful. In addition to being clean and global, geothermal provides a baseload energy source that’s available 24/7. It’s also “the most powerful and abundant renewable on Earth,” said Araque, “Much more so than wind, solar, nuclear, and all fossil fuels combined.”
In addition, Araque said, it’s important to weigh an energy source by its impact on externalities like the environment, land use, and mineral use:
When you look at the [problem] from this lens – how much land use per unit of energy you produce, the amount of materials necessary per unit of energy, and how much carbon dioxide you produce per unit of energy – you start realizing that geothermal comes out way, way ahead of anything else.
Barriers and solutions
To fully tap the resource, however, will be very capital and time intensive. Araque continued:
It’s very hard to achieve anything in our space with a million dollars or even $10 million.
You have to start playing at the $100 million level or even $1 billion level. This is what it costs to get [deep geothermal] developed and deployed at portfolio levels.
Further, the Quaise technology involved in deep drilling has been demonstrated in the lab but not yet in the field. And that will take time.
However, Araque said that by the end of the decade, Quaise aims to create power from a coal- or gas-fired power plant that has been converted to geothermal:
You feed in geothermal steam instead of steam from a fossil-fuel boiler. That in a brushstroke decarbonizes the power plant, and you can repeat that 10,000 times over with other plants.
The key to making deep geothermal a reality? “You leverage the oil and gas industry,” said Araque, who himself comes from fossil fuels. “I think of them as a ready-made workforce, supply chain, and regulatory framework that can push this into the world at the scale that’s required.”
Hannun noted that for Dandelion, simplifying complexity will be key to bringing down the costs associated with using geothermal for heating and cooling of residential homes:
It’s hard to advance our building stock and change all of the buildings that already exist [to geothermal because] they’re all slightly different and there’s a lot of complexity to manage. So a lot of our focus is on making geothermal [heat pumps] as simple to get into homes as it is to install a furnace or air conditioner.
Potential for entrepreneurs
Ammori ended the session by asking Hannun and Araque about remaining geothermal challenges that other entrepreneurs could tackle. Both agreed that better imaging systems to see underground are important. For deep geothermal, Araque said that there’s a need for electronics that can withstand the high temperatures associated with the resource. Hannun noted that anything related to weatherizing homes will help the geothermal heating and cooling industry.
She also stressed that for both her and Araque’s industries:
I would encourage entrepreneurs not to just look at the central core technology, but also the enabling technologies, products, or businesses around permitting, licensing, and transmission. There are [many] things in the ecosystem that need to happen to enable scale.
Araque concluded by noting that the energy transition itself is an unsolved problem:
Don’t for a second think that it’s just a matter of scaling what we have. There’s plenty of space for innovation. This is the greatest challenge of many generations, not just ours, and we need all human capital on the problem.
Photo: Gretar Ívarsson, geologist at Nesjavellir/edited by Fir0002/Public Domain
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If you’re considering going electric, May will be a great time to score a deal on an EV lease. Automakers are slashing lease prices on some of the most popular EVs to move inventory – here are four standouts.
Nissan Ariya SUV
Photo: Nissan
The Nissan Ariya SUV has an MSRP of $41,805. Its lease term is 36 months, with $4,409 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 10,000 a year. Monthly payment? A sweet $129!
Nissan cut the 2025 Ariya Engage’s price by $144 in April, so it now has an effective monthly cost of $251 – that’s seriously affordable for an electric SUV. If you’re already a Nissan driver, then you’re going to get an even better deal, because Nissan is offering a $1,000 loyalty discount on the Ariya, which brings its effective cost down to $224 per month.
CarsDirect, which sniffed out this deal, thinks this Ariya deal will be in place until Memorial Day, so take advantage of tariff-free pricing while you can.
The Honda Prologue SUV has an MSRP of $48,850. Its lease term is 36 months, with $1,399 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 10,000 a year. The monthly payment on the Prologue is $239.
The 2024 Honda Prologue has up to $18,800 in rebates, and the price includes a $1,000 lease loyalty discount or conquest offer. In California and other ZEV states, the EX has an effective cost of just $278 per month; in other parts of the US, pricing will be around $30 higher. This offer ends July 7.
The Tesla Model 3 has an MSRP of $43,880. Its best lease term is 24 months, with $1,044 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 10,000 a year. The monthly payment on the Model 3 is $349.
The 2025 Tesla Model 3 still has the $7,500 federal government EV rebate. Several months ago, Tesla reduced the amount due at signing on all Model 3s. And for those who want to lease a Long Range Model 3, the effective cost can be as low as $393 per month.
You can lease the Model 3 for 36 months, but the folks at CarsDirect found that the better deal will be had on 24-month leases. They compared the Model 3’s MSRP to the 2025 Lexus IS 300 F Sport’s MSRP, which is nearly identical, and the Model 3 was around 30% cheaper to lease.
Acura ZDX
Photo: Acura
The 2024 Acura ZDX has an MSRP of $65,850. Its best lease term is 36 months, with $4,699 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 7,500 a year. The monthly payment on the ZDX is $299.
The 2024 ZDX is Acura’s cheapest vehicle to lease because it features up to $29,450 in lease cash. However, the best deal is limited to California and ZEV states. If you cash in on a loyalty discount or conquest cash, the effective cost is $430 per month. This offer runs til June 30.
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Ford (F) reported its first-quarter earnings, beating Wall Street’s revenue and EPS expectations. However, with Trump’s auto tariffs, Ford is suspending full-year guidance. Here’s a breakdown of Ford’s Q1 2025 earnings
Ford Q1 2025 earnings preview
After crosstown rival General Motors cut its full-year financial guidance last week, investors are waiting to see if Ford will follow suit.
Ford’s previous 2025 forecast called for EBIT of $7 billion to $8.5 billion and capital expenditures between $8 billion and $9 billion.
The biggest threat is Trump’s new auto tariffs, which include a 25% duty on imported vehicles and many parts. Since Ford builds a greater percentage of vehicles in the US than any other major automaker, outside of Tesla, it isn’t expected to see as big of an impact.
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CEO Jim Farley called it “an opportunity for Ford,” during an interview with CNN last week, saying the company has a “different footprint, a different exposure for tariffs.”
Ford imports around 21% of the vehicles it sells in the US, while GM imports around 46%. According to Estimize, Wall St expects Ford to post Q1 EPS of $0.0 on revenue of $38.02 billion.
The company reports earnings for each of its three business units, Ford Blue (gas-powered vehicles), Model e (electric vehicles), and Ford Pro (commercial and software business).
In the fourth quarter, Ford’s EV unit (Model e) lost another $1.4 billion while Pro and Blue each reported an adjusted EBIT of $1.6 billion.
Ford Mustang Mach-E (left) and F-150 Lightning (right) (Source: Ford)
Financial breakdown
Ford beat Wall Street estimates, reporting first-quarter revenue of $40.7 billion with an adjusted EPS of 0.49.
Q1 2025 Revenue: $40.7 billion vs $38.02 billion expected.
Q1 2025 Adjusted EPS: $0.49 vs $0.0 expected.
The company posted adjusted EBIT of $1 billion, down 63% from Q1 2024. Ford said its first-quarter EBIT suffered a nearly $200 million hit from added tariff costs, primarily in Ford Blue and Ford Pro.
Ford Pro generated an EBIT of $1.3 billion, Ford Blue $96 million, and Ford Model e reported an EBIT loss of $849 million.
Ford Model e Q1 2025 earnings (Source: Ford)
For Model e, the company is focused on improving gross margins and “exercising a disciplined approach to investments in battery facilities and next-generation products.” Although still a nearly $1 billion loss, it’s still a $500 million improvement from Q1 2024.
Ford said higher Model e revenue was driven by new EVs launching in Europe, like the electric Explorer and Capri.
Ford’s electric vehicles in Europe from left to right: Puma Gen-E, Explorer, Capri, and Mustang Mach-E (Source: Ford)
The company said its “Power Promise” promotion, which includes a free home charger and several other benefits, has helped drive demand in the US.
Although it’s tracking within its previous full-year adjusted EBIT guidance of between $7 billion and $8.5 billion, Ford is suspending full-year guidance due to the uncertainty surrounding tariffs.
2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E (Source: Ford)
Ford estimates the full-year gross cost of tariffs to be around $2.5 billion. It expects a tariff-related net adverse adjusted EBIT impact of about $1.5 billion for the full year 2025.
Ford also extended its “From America, For America” campaign last week. The promo includes employee pricing on most 2024 and 2025 models and now runs through July 4.
Check back for more info from Ford’s first quarter conference call. Ford is also hosting its annual meeting on Thursday, May 8, where we should learn more about its EV plans and how it will navigate the new tariffs.
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