--- title: Startup taps underwater volcano as energy source in... description: Seattle startup Endurance Energy tested a 3-ton subsea geothermal power plant near the Axial Seamount, an active underwater volcano in the northeast Pacific,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/startup-taps-underwater-volcano-as-energy-source-in-proof-point-test-wl9lnxpmt twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Startup taps underwater volcano as energy source in “proof point” test | daily.dev og:description: Seattle startup Endurance Energy tested a 3-ton subsea geothermal power plant near the Axial Seamount, an active underwater volcano in the northeast Pacific,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/startup-taps-underwater-volcano-as-energy-source-in-proof-point-test-wl9lnxpmt og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/WL9LnxPmT.png og:image:alt: Startup taps underwater volcano as energy source in “proof point” test og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Startup taps underwater volcano as energy source in “proof point” test **[Ars Technica](https://daily.dev/sources/arstechnica)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Seattle startup Endurance Energy tested a 3-ton subsea geothermal power plant near the Axial Seamount, an active underwater volcano in the northeast Pacific, nearly a mile below the surface. The three-week September test generated under 10 seconds of net-positive electricity, demonstrating technical feasibility rather than commercial viability. The company aims to serve Pacific island nations and others seeking alternatives to imported fossil fuels, though experts note underwater geothermal likely costs more than land-based projects due to drilling and operational challenges at depth. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Has anyone successfully generated electricity from an underwater volcano using geothermal power? Yes, a startup called Endurance Energy demonstrated the first subsea geothermal power plant near the Axial Seamount, an active underwater volcano in the northeast Pacific, at a depth of about 5,000 feet. The three-week test in September used a 3-ton prototype and produced under 10 seconds of net-positive electricity, proving technical feasibility rather than sustained commercial output. _Follow emerging renewable energy engineering breakthroughs like subsea geothermal on daily.dev._ ### Why is underwater geothermal energy more expensive than land-based geothermal power? Underwater geothermal projects face higher installation and operational costs because drilling and equipment deployment at depths like 5,000 feet require specialized ships, subsea landers, and pressure-resistant systems not needed on land. A Stanford energy science professor noted it is probably technically feasible but undoubtedly costlier than land-based geothermal due to these added engineering demands. _Engineers weighing novel energy infrastructure trade-offs track feasibility stories like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Offshore Geothermal Energy Pilot Taps Seafloor Heat](https://daily.dev/posts/offshore-geothermal-energy-pilot-taps-seafloor-heat-pdpfupsb4) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [How an overlooked geothermal plant got a second chance](https://daily.dev/posts/how-an-overlooked-geothermal-plant-got-a-second-chance-yn9bjcore) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Geothermal energy turns red hot](https://daily.dev/posts/geothermal-energy-turns-red-hot-ooikjheeo) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Khosla-backed Mazama taps super-hot rocks in race to deliver 24/7 power](https://daily.dev/posts/khosla-backed-mazama-taps-super-hot-rocks-in-race-to-deliver-24-7-power-taaiascb3) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Next-generation geothermal energy: Promise, progress, and challenges](https://daily.dev/posts/next-generation-geothermal-energy-promise-progress-and-challenges-a3horq25a) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/startup-taps-underwater-volcano-as-energy-source-in-proof-point-test-wl9lnxpmt) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Startup taps underwater volcano as energy source in “proof point” test","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/startup-taps-underwater-volcano-as-energy-source-in-proof-point-test-wl9lnxpmt","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/startup-taps-underwater-volcano-as-energy-source-in-proof-point-test-wl9lnxpmt"},"datePublished":"2026-10-19T21:03:46.039Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T21:05:33.329Z","description":"Seattle startup Endurance Energy tested a 3-ton subsea geothermal power plant near the Axial Seamount, an active underwater volcano in the northeast Pacific,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/7d467e561bf4ca2039cd42824c430adb?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/7d467e561bf4ca2039cd42824c430adb?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Ars Technica","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Ars Technica","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/80883e0e48a34b5ebcf93777016cb3fe","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/arstechnica"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/startup-taps-underwater-volcano-as-energy-source-in-proof-point-test-wl9lnxpmt","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ars Technica","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/arstechnica"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Startup taps underwater volcano as energy source in “proof point” test"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/startup-taps-underwater-volcano-as-energy-source-in-proof-point-test-wl9lnxpmt#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Has anyone successfully generated electricity from an underwater volcano using geothermal power?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, a startup called Endurance Energy demonstrated the first subsea geothermal power plant near the Axial Seamount, an active underwater volcano in the northeast Pacific, at a depth of about 5,000 feet. 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