The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a funding opportunity of US$171.5 million to support next-generation geothermal field-scale tests for both electricity generation and exploration drilling to support characterisation and potential confirmation of promising geothermal prospects.

The activities enabled by this opportunity will help deliver on President Trump’s executive order, ‘Unleashing American Energy’, by advancing geothermal technology, innovation, and exploration, in turn supporting the potential for geothermal energy to provide affordable, reliable, around-the-clock domestic electricity to Americans nationwide.

DOE Assistant Secretary of the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office, Kyle Haustveit, commented: “Work under this opportunity will directly support our commitments to advance energy addition and reduce energy costs for American families and businesses. Thanks to President Trump’s America First Energy Agenda, these demonstrations and drilling activities will help us realise the enormous potential of geothermal to spur domestic manufacturing, enable data centre growth, and provide affordable, reliable, and secure energy solutions nationwide.”

The funding opportunity includes six topics with varied levels of funding and awards anticipated. For the first round of applications, two of the six topics will be open, seeking field tests for enhanced geothermal systems and drilling for next-generation and hydrothermal resource characterisation/confirmation.

Although the US leads the world in geothermal electricity capacity with about 4 GW, DOE analysis shows the potential for at least 300 GW of reliable, flexible geothermal power on the US grid by 2050. Projects under this opportunity are expected to help de-risk geothermal development approaches and locations nationwide, which can encourage private investment, spur industry growth, and help realise the country’s geothermal potential.

Letters of Intent for the opportunity are due 27 March 2026 and full applications are due 30 April 2026.