A startup named Quaise Energy is working on an ambitious project to drill 20 kilometers into the Earth's crust to tap into the immense heat found deep within the planet. This effort, called Obsidian, is taking place in Oregon, on the west coast of the United States. The goal is to build a **stimulated geothermal power plant**, a type of facility that uses heat from the Earth to generate electricity. If successful, the project could produce up to 250 megawatts of power, with long-term plans to reach gigawatt levels, which would be enough to supply millions of homes. Stimulated geothermal systems work by drilling two deep wells into the ground. Water is pumped through one well into hot, dry rock. As the water heats up, it turns into steam or remains as hot water, which is then brought back to the surface through another well. This hot fluid is used to drive turbines, which generate electricity. This method differs from traditional geothermal systems, which rely on naturally occurring steam or hot water from underground reservoirs. Drilling to such extreme depths presents major technical challenges. The deepest well ever drilled was in the Kola Peninsula, in what is now Russia, and reached about 12 kilometers. However, that project was stopped due to high temperatures, extreme pressures, and difficulties in extracting materials from such depths. These issues have made deep drilling a difficult and risky endeavor. To address these challenges, Quaise Energy is using a novel drilling technique. After reaching a certain depth with traditional drilling methods, the company uses a **millimeter-wave drilling system**, which uses high-frequency electromagnetic waves to heat and melt the rock. This method avoids the need for mechanical drilling, which can be less efficient at extreme depths. So far, the company has successfully drilled over 100 meters into granite using this system, showing promise for future deep drilling efforts.