Company

Our work is a necessity, not an option.

Deep geothermal energy is at the core of an energy-independent world. Our mission is to bring this inexhaustible, renewable, clean energy source to future generations. This is the profound power of deep geothermal. We are unlocking energy for all.

Meet the people
behind the work.

Carlos Araque

Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer

Carlos Araque is the co-founder and CEO of Quaise Energy. He leads a team that intends to unlock the heat beneath our feet, a feat that could ultimately power the world with clean energy. To make that energy — supercritical geothermal power — available to all, Carlos is leveraging his considerable experience solving difficult technical challenges in the oil industry for Schlumberger and as technical director for The Engine, MIT’s groundbreaking fund and platform to commercialize world-changing technologies. Carlos believes that supercritical geothermal power has the potential to replace fossil fuels as the world’s dominant energy source.

“Our ultimate goal is to replace every single oil or gas well with a supercritical geothermal well providing the same amount of energy.”

Matthew Houde

Co-founder, ARPA‑E Project Manager

Matt Houde is the project manager for the $5M grant that Quaise received from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA‑E) to develop a new drilling technology that could allow the world to access the supercritical geothermal heat that is miles beneath our feet. In addition to his financial and administrative duties related to the grant, he schedules key tests to meet project milestones. The work involves coordinating with Paul Woskov of MIT, the inventor of the technology Quaise is based on, and scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, which will physically host Quaise experiments. The Quaise team is also collaborating with AltaRock Energy and Impact Technologies.

“We need a more reliable renewable energy source that uses much less land. Supercritical geothermal fits that spot like a glove.”
Portrait of Kevin Bonebrake

Kevin Bonebrake

Chief Financial Officer

Kevin Bonebrake is Chief Financial Officer for Quaise Energy. He leads a team that is developing and executing on all aspects of Quaise’s strategy as well as funding and commercializing its innovative millimeter wave drilling technology for power-dense, deep geothermal energy applications. Kevin started his professional career as a mechanical engineer researching industrial laser applications, then spent nearly twenty years advising energy companies on all aspects of strategy and financing as a senior investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Lazard. He believes that super-hot geothermal can provide the energy that will be needed to power the world’s rapidly growing economy through the end of this century and beyond.

“The commer­cial­iza­tion of this technology will enable a transformational leap forward in the heat content of geothermal systems, which in turn will deliver cost effective clean baseload power to the entire planet.”

Franck Monmont

Vice President, Research

Franck Monmont is vice president of research and development at Quaise Energy. He leads the team that is developing large-scale computer models to predict and understand what happens deep underground during the Quaise drilling process. The work essentially simulates the physics involved when millimeter waves interact with and vaporize rock. The results are used to not only design Quaise equipment but also to solve potential problems during operations. For 20 years, Franck was a research scientist for Schlumberger, where he solved problems for the oil industry. His projects included designs for a downhole acoustic telemetry tool, a reservoir simulator for the in-situ combustion process, a 3D printed electrical submersible pump (ESP), and a series of drilling event detection workflows deployed worldwide.

“It’s always exciting to do something you haven’t done before, especially when nobody else has done it.”

Henry Phan

Vice President, Engineering

Henry Phan is vice president of engineering for Quaise Energy. He leads the team that is developing an industrial application of the novel drilling technology Quaise is based on. That technology has been successfully demonstrated in the laboratory. Henry and his team aim to scale the system for use in the field. That includes building a much larger — and more robust — system that is easy to maintain. Henry’s entire career has prepared him for this mission. Over 25 years he has brought several important products to life, from initial designs to full commer­cial­iza­tion, including the Manara system at Schlumberger.

“Supercritical geothermal energy could be an unlimited source of green energy on a human timeframe.”

Trenton Cladouhos

Vice President, Geothermal Resource Development

Dr. Trenton Cladouhos is vice president of geothermal resource development for Quaise Energy. He leads the team developing and testing technologies to create the world’s first superhot rock Engineered Geothermal System (EGS). He also leads efforts to characterize the subsurface at sites where geothermal energy can replace fossil fuels. Trenton spent 35 years in applied geosciences, with the last 15 years in the geothermal industry. He has worked on geothermal projects worldwide, including EGS, geothermal exploration, drilling, and well field operations.

“The best path to scalable geothermal electricity production worldwide is to develop the technologies to create superhot rock Engineered Geothermal Systems.”

Geoffrey Garrison

Vice President, Operations

Dr. Geoffrey Garrison is vice president of operations for Quaise Energy. He leads the team responsible for executing the development of geothermal heat and power assets. He works closely with the commercial team to identify, plan, build, operate, and monitor the company’s first pilots in the Western United States. Geoffrey previously served as the Vice President of Research and Development at AltaRock Energy. He has over 30 years of experience in industrial development, academic research, technical consulting, and management across multiple sectors.

“Superhot geothermal — why burn fossil fuels when you can charge your phone with the Earth’s internal fury?”
  • Justin Lamb

    Field Operations

  • Andres Calabressi

    Project Manager

  • Stephen Jeske

    Project Manager

  • Marco Quilico

    Project Manager

  • Victor Rustom

    Field Engineer

  • Michael Steingraeber

    Field Engineer

  • Sean Broderick

    Engineer

  • Brian Christiansen

    Engineer

  • Daniel Dichter

    Engineer

  • Emilie Garnier

    Engineer

  • David Hawn

    Engineer

  • Andrew Hunt

    Engineer

  • Kemar James

    Engineer

  • Jimmy Lee

    Engineer

  • Carlos Ortiz

    Engineer

  • Felipe Rivero

    Engineer

  • Casey Rodgers

    Engineer

  • Dmitry Shchegolkov

    Engineer

  • Sasha Siy

    Engineer

  • Nick Thomas

    Engineer

  • Anthonie Tran

    Engineer

  • Francesco Vaghi

    Engineer

  • Robert Beaudette

    Designer

  • Clay Bryant

    Designer

  • Chris Hall

    Designer

  • Thomas Meeks

    Designer

  • Mark Shool

    Designer

  • Hector Vargas

    Designer

  • Chris Gretencord

    Technician

  • Aaron Hernandez

    Technician

  • Boris Idashkin

    Technician

  • Tony Taylor

    Technician

  • Saul Valdez

    Technician

  • Oscar Arce

    Facility Manager

  • Jessie Driskel

    Supply Chain Manager

  • Kimberly Hilario

    Supply Chain

  • Cristina Leija

    Supply Chain

  • Quinlan Byrne

    Geoscientist

  • James Benetatos

    Business Development

  • Charlotte Wallace

    Business Development

  • Jared Newton

    Assistant Controller

  • Harry Kelso

    Communications

  • Sonia Christian

    Human Resources

History

Carlos Araque spent fifteen years working at one of the world’s foremost providers of drilling services to the oil and gas industry. Seeing the negative impacts of that industry firsthand made him want to do something to help make things better. Quaise’s deep drilling technology is the result of a decade of research conducted by Paul Woskov at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center. 
Aaron Mandell knew both Paul and Carlos and put them all at the table together. Once the first conversation started everyone knew it was a once-in-a-generation idea. Vinod Khosla was the first backer, bringing our ideas to life. Two years later, The Engine, a venture fund built by MIT, led the seed round to help take our technology to market.
  • MIT
  • University of Cambridge
  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • ARPA-E
  • Vinod Khosla

  • The Engine Fund
  • Collaborative Fund
  • Safar Partners
  • Nabors
  • Altarock
  • General Atomics
  • CPI Investments
  • Bridge12
  • Impact Technologies