Critical Energy Systems Raises $19M in Seed Funding

The round also saw participation from MaC Venture Capital, Susquehanna Sustainable Investments, Humba Ventures, Scribble Ventures, and Underground Ventures. 

The company plans to use the funds to speed up its thermodynamic engineering research, increase its manufacturing capacity, and grow its team of hardware and production experts.

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Critical Energy aims to address a major gap in the geothermal industry by building modular turbines designed specifically for geothermal power plants. The funds will be used to develop its first 2.5-megawatt project.

Critical Energy aims to fill the gap in geothermal energy by developing modular turbines. Founder Jackson draws on his experience at SpaceX, where he worked on Falcon Heavy, Starship, and the Raptor rocket engine, to guide the design.

To build the system quickly, the company is partnering with machine shops to produce turbomachinery and other components that are similar to rocket engine parts, while sourcing other parts off the shelf for now. In the future, the startup may bring more manufacturing in-house, following an approach similar to Tesla and SpaceX, Jackson said.

The first power plant using Critical Energy’s turbines is expected to be completed by 2027. It will be installed at an existing geothermal site similar to those in Iceland or The Geysers in Northern California.

The company is also developing a larger 5-megawatt module for enhanced geothermal companies like Fervo Energy, which drill deeper to access more heat from the Earth.

By the early 2030s, founder Jackson hopes Critical Energy will be producing turbines at gigawatt scale. He said the goal is to reach fast, scalable power growth, with a long-term target of 300 gigawatts per year by 2045.

“AI agents are entering enterprise infrastructure faster than security teams can adapt, so the window to establish control is now. They’ve built a genuine control layer, not another point solution, and enterprises can operationalise it today,” says Alexander Meyer-Scharenberg, partner at Alstin Capital.

About Critical Energy Systems

Founded in 2024 by Spencer Jackson, Critical Energy develops modular turbines and high efficiency power systems designed to improve energy conversion, and speed up deployment for geothermal infrastructure projects.

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