With $54M and SpaceX’s playbook, Seattle’s Endurance races to harness the power of a deep-sea volcano – GeekWire
Endurance Energy, a Seattle-based startup developing technology to extract energy from subsea heat, has raised $54 million.
The team – led by former SpaceX engineer Andrew Redd – is racing to meet the huge demand for clean energy, with plans to bring electricity to the grid within two years.
“Our SpaceX legacy enables an unprecedented pace of development for new energy projects,” the company said Thursday on LinkedIn.
Redd launched Endurance in 2024. Last year, the startup completed sending four prototypes into deep volcanoes nearly 1,000 feet underground, where volcanic systems heat water up to 728 degrees Fahrenheit.
Geothermal companies generate energy by drilling wells for hot water or steam underground, bringing that fluid to the surface and using it to spin turbines, then returning it to a reservoir.
Endurance is unique in its pursuit of undersea geothermal resources and aims to generate energy on a gigawatt scale. In comparison: Washington’s Grand Coulee Dam has a generating capacity of 6.8 gigawatts and is the largest hydroelectric station of any type in the US.
Hitting gigawatt generation will take time. Endurance is in the process of deploying its 100 kilowatt generator called “Adelie” in the underwater volcanic area called Juan de Fuca ridge, located off the coast of Washington and Oregon. Adelie is the company’s first complete system, capable of subsea drilling, generating power for that drilling and handling power transmission.
Geothermal energy has become a hot ticket in the clean energy sector. With Google as a key investor, Fervo Energy raised $462 million in December, bringing its total to more than $1.5 billion. Sage Geosystems closed a round worth more than $97 million in January.
Geothermal sources currently account for only 0.4% of US electricity generation – but that share is expected to grow given the technology’s potential to provide around-the-clock, carbon-free electricity.
Redd, a native of the Pacific Northwest, built his company on the north shore of Seattle’s Lake Union. He praised the facility for generous funding and allowing the team to load seafloor drills and power generators directly onto ocean-going vessels.
“Subsea geothermal and Seattle are a match made in heaven,” Redd said on LinkedIn. “The opportunity to work in renewable energy, with such a talented group of people, at home, is a dream come true!”
The startup has 25 employees, according to TechCrunch, 12 of whom used to work at SpaceX.
The Series A round was led by Founders Fund with new investors Felicis, Voyager Ventures, Riot Ventures and Construct Capital. Previous backers Point72 Ventures, First Round Capital and Ascend also participated.
