Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
A pair of oil and gas investors led a $12 million seed round raised by Eden GeoPower, which has developed technology to zap rocks with electricity for more sustainable drilling and mining.
Why it matters: Fossil-fuel and clean-energy developers alike are racing to deploy technology to cut expensive drilling costs.
Context: Drilling alone can account for 50% of the cost of a geothermal energy project.
- In oil and gas projects, that share is about 30% to 40% of a well's costs.
How it works: Eden GeoPower uses what's known as electrical reservoir stimulation to break apart rocks underground.
- The Boston-based company says the tech enables more precise and efficient resource development that requires less water than traditional hydraulic fracturing.
Of note: The U.S. Department of Energy last year announced a goal to cut development costs for clean geothermal energy by 90%.
- Stimulation tech like Eden's may help achieve such cost reductions.
- TechEnergy Ventures, the venture arm of oil and gas producer Tecpetrol, and drilling rig contractor Helmerich & Payne led the round, which closed last week.
- The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Anglo American, Good Growth Capital, Mass Ventures, and Portfolia Green & Sustainability Fund joined.
What's next: Eden completed a pilot project in Oman and is planning for further field testing.
