A US company focused on the design and development of factory-built modular geothermal plants for the data center sector has raised $22 million in seed funding.

Los Angeles-based Critical Energy announced the close of its funding round, led by Susa Ventures and Upfront Ventures. It plans to use the proceeds of the funding round to advance its technology and expedite plans for its full-scale commercial plant, which is slated to come online in 2027.

Critical Energy was founded by SpaceX alum Spencer Jackson, who serves as its CEO. The company is seeking to offer a bespoke solution for the AI data center sector by building custom on-site geothermal power plants. Jackson said that the company is taking a manufacturing-based approach to geothermal deployments, with its Apex power units designed to be factory-manufactured, shipped in containers, and assembled on-site where they will deliver power.

The company has two flagship models, dubbed Apex 2500 and Apex 5000, which provide 2.5MW and 5MW of capacity, respectively. According to the company, the former is targeted for standard conventional geothermal power, and the latter is designed for Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), which have seen growing interest from hyperscale companies.

“The thing that needed to be done here was a manufacturing and supply chain change, not a technology invention,” Jackson said.

The fundraiser reflects the growth of interest in geothermal energy within the data center market. Over the past two years, we have seen a swathe of deals within the sector, with much of the focus on EGS systems, which offer much higher capacity factors than conventional geothermal systems. To date, Google, Meta (x2), Microsoft, and Amazon have all inked deals with geothermal developers, with the bulk of the deals within the US market.