Who Is Really Funding Next-Gen Geothermal in 2026? Next-generation geothermal has moved beyond laboratory research into a capital-intensive commercialization phase. In 2026, the most important financing is no longer coming from one investor category: venture capital funds are financing drilling, subsurface modelling and hardware; strategic energy companies are providing equipment, project access and market credibility; banks are beginning to lend against contracted projects; and governments are absorbing exploration and first-of-a-kind technology risk. The strongest financing activity is concentrated in the United States and Canada, but Europe is becoming increasingly important through Germany-based deployment, European Union grants, UK innovation support, and strategic participation from European energy companies. The central investment question is changing from “Can this technology work?” to “Can the developer deliver repeatable, financeable projects at commercial cost?” The 2026 fun...
University of Aberdeen to Drill Scotland’s First Deep Geothermal Test Borehole in £1 Million UKRI-Funded Pilot By: Robert Buluma Published on – 9 December 2025 Big news from the Granite City: the University of Aberdeen has just been awarded £1 million by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to launch the Aberdeen Geothermal Feasibility Pilot (AGFP) the most ambitious city-scale geothermal exploration project ever undertaken in Scotland. If planning permission is granted, the university will drill an instrumented research borehole to over 500 metres depth right on the historic King’s College campus in Old Aberdeen. This will be the first time anyone has collected direct, in-field temperature, geological, and hydrological data from Aberdeen’s famous granite basement the same hot granite that has been quietly sitting under the city for 400 million years. Why Aberdeen + Granite = Geothermal Gold Granite is radioactive (tiny amounts of uranium and thorium), which means it generates ...