Project InnerSpace Launches GeoFund with First Funded Project to Pioneer Economic Growth Through Sustainable Agriculture
The Tapri India Geothermal Cold Storage Project will boost local incomes, support economic growth in the region, strengthen energy resilience, and model community-scale geothermal applications in India and beyond
BOSTON, Sept. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Project InnerSpace announced today the launch of its GeoFund program along with its first funded project: the Tapri Geothermal Cold Storage Project, a geothermal powered cold storage and crop drying facility in Himachal Pradesh, India, being pioneered by Geotropy.
What is GeoFund: GeoFund is Project InnerSpace's latest program launch, in line with its mission of global systemic change in the way that the world views, develops, and utilizes geothermal energy. The Geothermal Exponential Opportunities Fund ("GeoFund") enables first-of-a-kind geothermal pilot projects that, if successful, could be replicated on a global scale with massive cumulative impact.
GeoFund utilizes philanthropy to derisk catalytic and globally scalable geothermal pilots that would result in local community resilience and economic growth if developed, but are unable to secure traditional forms of project financing, addressing a valley of death that serves as a critical barrier keeping many impactful community based projects from advancing.
GeoFund's first funded project in Tapri India: Geothermal energy—the Earth's naturally occurring heat —is an always-on, abundant, and largely untapped resource for power, heating, and cooling. In rural India, where farmers often face post-harvest losses due to lack of available and affordable cooling, geothermal offers a locally produced, secure, and reliable alternative with huge untapped potential.
The area around Tapri is known for apple orchards and horticultural produce. However, without reliable cold storage, farmers are often forced to sell their harvest quickly and often at low prices. Globally, an estimated 4% of food is lost between harvest and retail, and geothermal enabled solutions stand to gain rapid traction in these high-need areas, preserving hundreds of thousands of tons of food each year.
The new cold storage facility will provide 500 tons of storage and fruit dehydration capacity, allowing farmers to preserve quality, cut waste, and sell at premium prices. The project will also catalyze local economic development by creating local jobs, reducing crop losses, and creating more predictable revenue streams for farmers and workers.
"A widely recognized barrier to the rapid expansion of geothermal energy is the lack of pilot projects to demonstrate impact across the various technologies, applications, geologies, and geographies globally where it could be most impactful in economic development, energy security, and prosperity," said Jamie Beard, Executive Director of Project InnerSpace. "The Tapri pilot will tackle one of India's most urgent agricultural challenges, lifting incomes, and proving a model to scale globally. We look forward to supporting the Geotropy team in the development of this pivotal project."
"This project is about more than just building a cold storage unit—it's about making sure our community can create economic growth by tapping into its geothermal potential" said Vijay Chauhan, CEO, GeoTropy. "Our farmers already see the value of this work, and we now have a waiting list for people to use the facilities."
Similar supply chain scenarios impact local farmers across India and the globe, positioning the Tapri facility as a massively scalable model. Project InnerSpace estimates that applications similar to the Tapri pilot may be scalable to millions of hectares of cropland globally. GeoFund will open source project outcomes and related data, and leverage partnerships to support the scaling of successful GeoFund outcomes to other regions of the world facing similar challenges. Pilots addressing other applications of geothermal energy in Asia, Africa, and Central/South America are currently under consideration for future funding rounds.
About Project InnerSpace
Project InnerSpace is the leading independent non-profit organization dedicated to the global development of geothermal energy. Our mission is to remove the barriers to the exponential growth and development of geothermal energy worldwide by 2030. To learn more about Project InnerSpace please visit www.projectinnerspace.org.
About GeoFund
GeoFund leverages philanthropy to derisk and enable community-driven geothermal projects that create local economic, resilience, or quality of life benefits in emerging economies where geothermal development has been slow or non-existent. GeoFund will open source project outcomes and related data as an avenue to scale successful outcomes globally. GeoFund is Project InnerSpace's latest program launch, in line with its mission of catalyzing global systemic change in the way that the world views, develops, and utilizes geothermal energy. Further projects in Asia, Africa, and Central/South America are under consideration for future funding rounds of GeoFund.
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