Rodathererm Energy wants to make geothermal more efficient, but will it be cheaper?

Rodathererm Energy, a new geothermal startup, came from Stealth Monday with $ 38 million in funding and a plan to build a pilot plan in Utah.

The startup differs by plumbing its boreholes with a closed loop, probably made of steel filled with a refrigerant. It contrasts with other improved geothermal companies that tend to use water to transport heat from deep inside the soil.

The series A Round was led by EVOK innovations with participation from active influence investments, Giga Investments, Grantham Foundation for Protection of the Environment, MCJ, TDK Ventures, Tech Energy Ventures and Toyota Ventures.

Rodatherm is facing fierce competition with an established field of players, including the glow energy, Sage Geosystems, XGS Energy and Quait.

Ferro is considered the front runner in the room, which has collected almost $ 1 billion. The company is on its way to implementing a 100-Megawatt first phase of its Cape Station Power Plant next year with another 400 megawatts coming online in 2028. It also has an agreement to supply Google with electricity for its data centers. XGS Energy also has a data center agreement, one with Meta, to develop a 150-Megawatt power plant in New Mexico to operate the tech company’s data centers.

Rodatherm says its closed loop, refrigerant -based approach is 50% more efficient than a typical water -based system. Air source heat pumps, often called miniplits, use hydrocarbon hydrid -based refrigerants to switch heat between indoors and out.

The start-up patent on the technology says the closed loop design will eliminate the need for filters to screen gravel and dirt, which open loop systems can suck up as the water flowing through the ground breaks bits of rock loose. It also says that the closed loop system will minimize water consumption.

But Rodatherm’s approach comes almost certainly with increased drilling and installation costs compared to simpler systems. It is possible that the extra efficiency that the refrigerant -based design can offset these costs, although it remains an open question until the company ends a well.

The company plans to use the A-Financing series to complete a small pilot 1.8-Megawatt pilot in Utah by the end of 2026. Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems plans to buy electricity from the project.