SpaceX Veteran’s Startup Secures $22M for Geothermal Growth

As global electricity demand continues to rise, geothermal energy is gaining attention as one of the most promising clean power sources. Unlike solar and wind, geothermal can generate electricity around the clock, making it an attractive option for powering industries and large-scale infrastructure.

A new startup called Critical Energy is betting that the biggest opportunity isn’t drilling more geothermal wells—it’s solving a key equipment shortage that could slow the industry’s growth.

The company has secured $22 million in early funding, including $19 million in seed financing and an additional $3 million in venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank. The seed round was led by Susa Ventures and Upfront Ventures, with participation from MaC Venture Capital, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, Humba Ventures, Scribble Ventures, and Underground Ventures.

Building Turbines for the Next Generation of Geothermal Plants

Critical Energy plans to use the new funding to build its first 2.5-megawatt modular geothermal turbine project. The company believes modular turbines, built in factories instead of assembled on-site, can significantly speed up geothermal power plant construction while lowering costs.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), geothermal energy has an estimated 42 terawatts of global capacity, more than twice the amount of energy the world consumed last year. Despite this enormous potential, investment in geothermal startups remains far behind funding flowing into advanced nuclear fission and fusion companies.

SpaceX Experience Inspires a New Approach

Critical Energy was co-founded by Spencer Jackson, a former SpaceX engineer who worked on Falcon Heavy, Starship, and the Raptor rocket engine. He is applying lessons learned from rocket engineering to develop compact, high-performance turbines for geothermal plants.

Many turbine components closely resemble rocket engine technology, allowing the company to work with experienced machine shops to manufacture turbomachinery efficiently. Other components are currently sourced off the shelf, though Jackson said the startup could eventually bring more manufacturing in-house, similar to the strategies used by Tesla and SpaceX.

Racing Ahead of Nuclear Energy

While many advanced nuclear fission and fusion companies are targeting the early 2030s for commercial deployment, Jackson believes geothermal energy will reach large-scale commercialization much sooner.

“Geothermal is going to beat them to it. By a lot,” he said, adding that he hopes Critical Energy will be producing several gigawatts of turbine capacity annually within the next four to five years.

The company’s first geothermal power plant using its modular turbines is expected to be completed in 2027 at an existing geothermal site similar to those found in Iceland or The Geysers in Northern California.

Critical Energy is also designing a larger 5-megawatt turbine module for enhanced geothermal developers such as Fervo Energy, which drill deeper underground to extract more heat.

Meeting Future Power Demand

Growing electricity demand from artificial intelligence and data centers is expected to increase the need for reliable clean energy. A recent report suggests advanced geothermal could supply nearly two-thirds of new data centers by 2030.

Jackson believes the biggest challenge won’t be drilling wells but manufacturing enough turbines. He expects oil and gas companies to eventually accelerate geothermal development because of their expertise in large-scale drilling.

Looking further ahead, Critical Energy has set an ambitious target of producing 300 gigawatts of turbine capacity annually by 2045.

“We are looking for the fastest path to gigawatts of scalable power on the grid,” Jackson said, emphasizing the company’s long-term vision for expanding geothermal energy worldwide.

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