Below the Surface: How Baker Hughes is Drilling the 24/7 Clean Energy Solution
By: Robert Buluma
The geothermal era has arrived — and Baker Hughes is holding the drill.
While much of the energy world remains fixated on LNG exports and offshore wind, a quieter revolution is taking place beneath our feet. Baker Hughes (BKR), the Houston-based energy technology giant, has assembled what may be the most comprehensive geothermal partnership network in the industry — positioning itself as the go-to industrial executor for next-generation geothermal power.
In 2026 alone, the company has locked in strategic collaborations spanning three continents, from the deserts of Saudi Arabia to the outback of Australia and the high-heat basins of the American West. The common thread? Baker Hughes is applying a century of oil and gas drilling expertise to unlock geothermal energy at industrial scale — and the data center boom is providing the perfect market catalyst.
The Strategy: "Ground-to-Grid" Execution
The knock on enhanced geothermal has always been the same: too theoretical, too risky, too expensive. Baker Hughes is countering this narrative with what it calls its "ground-to-grid" portfolio an end-to-end capability that integrates subsurface engineering, well construction, power generation systems, and infrastructure project execution.
No other energy services company offers this full-stack solution. And in 2026, Baker Hughes is proving that the strategy works — not through pilot projects, but through utility-scale, revenue-generating developments.
The Partnership Network: A Geothermal Alliance
Baker Hughes has quietly built a formidable network of geothermal partners. Here is the complete list for 2026:
Baker Hughes announced a strategic collaboration with XGS Energy to advance a 150-megawatt geothermal project in New Mexico. The project will supply clean, round-the-clock power to the Public Service Company of New Mexico's (PNM) grid in support of Meta's data center operations in the state.
What makes XGS's technology unique is that it is water and geology-independent — using proprietary thermally conductive materials to harvest heat without needing natural underground reservoirs. This single project will increase New Mexico's operating geothermal capacity tenfold.
"Geothermal energy plays a vital role in delivering reliable, cleaner power at scale," said Maria Claudia Borras, Baker Hughes' Chief Growth Officer. "By collaborating with XGS at this early stage, we are applying our ground-to-grid capabilities to reduce technical risk."
In May 2026, Baker Hughes teamed up with drilling giant Helmerich & Payne (H&P) to support geothermal exploration and development across the United States.
Under the collaboration, H&P will provide a geothermal-capable land rig dedicated exclusively to geothermal activity, while Baker Hughes will apply its subsurface and energy technology expertise to support well planning and execution. The rig is expected to be deployed later this year.
"This collaboration reflects a deliberate step to move geothermal development in the U.S. from concept to reality," said Amerino Gatti, Baker Hughes' Executive Vice President of Oilfield Services & Equipment.
While the formal agreement was signed in late 2025, its impact is playing out in 2026. Strataphy selected Baker Hughes as its preferred equipment and services provider for its portfolio of geothermal cooling projects.
In February 2026, Strataphy signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding with Emaar, The Economic City to evaluate large-scale geothermal cooling at the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Saudi Arabia. The initiative is expected to reduce electricity consumption and cooling costs by up to 50% annually, decrease CO2 emissions by up to 40%, and free up 30% of the city's total electrical capacity.
Strataphy's "Cooling as a Service" model, powered by Baker Hughes equipment, requires no upfront investment — making geothermal cooling accessible at scale.
Through its investment in GreenFire Energy, Baker Hughes is also participating in a geothermal development with Earths Energy in Australia. The collaboration is exploring closed-loop geothermal technology across Earths Energy's exploration portfolio in Queensland and South Australia.
Closed-loop systems offer a sustainable, water-independent way to harness the Earth's heat — particularly valuable in drought-prone Australia.
While this agreement dates to late 2025, it represents one of Baker Hughes' largest geothermal commitments. CTR and Baker Hughes entered into definitive agreements to develop 500 megawatts of baseload geothermal power at the Hell's Kitchen project in Imperial County, California.
The project is designed to power hyperscale data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure — industries that demand uninterrupted, 24/7 energy. Baker Hughes will deploy high-temperature drilling technologies, advanced power systems, and digital field services across the development.
"Together with CTR's project leadership, we aim to deliver one of the largest baseload renewable energy projects in the United States," Borras stated.
Why This Matters: The Data Center Connection
The common thread across nearly all of these partnerships is data centers — specifically, the insatiable energy appetite of artificial intelligence.
Hyperscale data centers cannot run on intermittent renewables alone. Solar power disappears at night. Wind power is unpredictable. But geothermal delivers baseload generation with capacity factors above 98% — as reliable as a natural gas plant but with near-zero emissions.
Meta's data center in New Mexico will be powered by the XGS collaboration. AI infrastructure in California will draw from the CTR project. Even the Saudi cooling partnership is about freeing up electrical capacity for growth.
Baker Hughes has recognized that geothermal's moment has arrived — not because of environmental regulations, but because the digital economy demands it.
The Verdict: An Execution Machine
For years, geothermal energy was the "could-have-been" of renewable energy — technically viable but commercially marginal. Baker Hughes is changing that equation by applying oil and gas execution discipline to geothermal development.
The company's partnership network reads like a who's-who of geothermal innovation: XGS for next-generation solid-state systems, H&P for drilling capacity, Strataphy for cooling applications, and CTR for utility-scale power. Each partnership addresses a different segment of the market, but all share the same Baker Hughes value proposition: we know how to drill, and we know how to deliver.
As one industry observer noted, the difference between a great idea and a great asset is the quality of execution in the field. Baker Hughes has spent a century building that execution muscle in oil and gas. Now, it is applying that same capability to the heat beneath our feet.
Geothermal has left the laboratory. Baker Hughes is holding the drill.
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