Critical Energy raises $22M to build modular geothermal turbines

Critical Energy has secured $22 million in total early capital to develop modular turbines for the geothermal market. The funding consists of $19 million in seed funding—an early-stage investment round—and $3 million in venture debt, which is a type of debt financing provided to venture-backed startups by Silicon Valley Bank.

The startup is targeting a massive resource. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), geothermal energy has at least 42 terawatts of capacity worldwide. However, utilizing this resource at scale faces infrastructure bottlenecks. Spencer Jackson, co-founder and CEO of Critical Energy, stated that there is a looming shortage of compatible turbines for geothermal projects. Traditional large turbines can take months or even years to assemble on-site. To address this gap, Critical Energy is building modular turbines designed to be manufactured in factories. Jackson noted that factory assembly is significantly faster and cheaper than building turbines on-site. He expects that once geothermal technology matures, oil and gas companies will enter the market rapidly. These companies possess the replicability to drill hundreds or thousands of wells, but they will still require turbines to generate power, exacerbating the looming equipment shortage.

Jackson, a former SpaceX engineer who worked on Falcon Heavy, Starship, and the Raptor rocket engine, plans to complete the company’s first 2.5 megawatt project by 2027. This initial power plant is scheduled to be installed at an existing geothermal site similar to those found in Iceland or at The Geysers in Northern California. Beyond this initial project, Critical Energy is designing a larger, 5 megawatt module targeted at enhanced geothermal companies like Fervo Energy, which drill deeper into the Earth to withdraw more heat.

Looking further ahead, the company is aiming for rapid scale. While nuclear fission and fusion startups are targeting the early 2030s for commercial deployments, Jackson believes geothermal will move much faster. “Geothermal is going to beat them to it. By a lot,” he said, noting his hope that the company will produce many gigawatts of capacity annually within four or five years. A recent report indicates that advanced geothermal could power nearly two-thirds of new data centers by 2030. To meet this demand, Critical Energy is seeking the fastest path to bring scalable power to the grid, with a long-term goal of producing 300 gigawatts of power annually by 2045.

The seed round was led by Susa Ventures and Upfront Ventures, with participation from:

• MaC Venture Capital
• Susquehanna Sustainable Investments
• Humba Ventures
• Scribble Ventures
• Underground Ventures

Why it matters

Critical Energy is attempting to address a looming shortage of turbines for geothermal power plants by developing modular, factory-built units, aiming to scale to gigawatts of power.