Critical Energy’s geothermal turbine bet links rocket engineering with clean firm power
Critical Energy’s $19 million seed round shows how space-sector engineering talent is moving into geothermal power as AI and data centres raise demand for clean firm energy.
Clean power is becoming strategic infrastructure for the AI era. Critical Energy’s raise shows how engineering talent from aerospace can move into geothermal, where reliability matters as much as innovation.
What happened
Critical Energy raised $19 million in seed funding to build modular turbines for geothermal power plants. The company is applying rocket-engine expertise to a different hard-tech problem: producing clean firm power from geothermal resources.
Why it matters
AI data centres and industrial electrification are increasing demand for power that is both clean and available around the clock. Geothermal energy could help fill that gap, but it needs better technology and economics to scale.
The bigger picture
Climate Tech is moving deeper into hard infrastructure. Startups that combine advanced engineering with energy-system needs may become important as compute, manufacturing and electrification put more pressure on the grid.