Geothermal heating and cooling technology company Bedrock Energy announced that it has raised $8.5 million in seed capital, with proceeds from the financing to be used to advance its solutions to help decarbonize real estate with carbon-free HVAC systems.

Buildings are a significant contributor to global GHG emissions, and one of the hardest to replace, given their long-term nature. Overall, buildings are estimated to contribute to about 15% of global carbon emissions, with heating and cooling representing about 35% of that. As real estate owners face increasing pressure to decarbonize their assets, emissions-free geothermal energy can provide a solution, particularly with substantial federal incentives in place to help offset the upfront costs of geothermal systems.

Founded in 2022, California-based Bedrock Energy designs and manufactures drilling technologies to provide geothermal heating and cooling for buildings. The company’s technology combines autonomous drilling and advanced subsurface modeling, substantially increasing the speed and space efficiency of geothermal projects, enabling the use of geothermal HVAC in dense, urban locations. According to the company, the system allows real estate owners and investors to decarbonize large properties, while providing payback periods under five years.

Since launching, Bedrock Energy has focused on designing and manufacturing its drilling assets, developing subsurface physics modeling software, and building out its multi-disciplinary team. According to the company, proceeds from the financing will be used to accelerate manufacturing and deployment of its technologies to improve the economics of all-electric geothermal HVAC systems.

Joselyn Lai, co-founder and CEO of Bedrock Energy, said:

“For decades, geothermal heat pumps have been the most energy-efficient form of HVAC, but adoption has historically been slow due to the upfront cost, time, and space required to construct the borefields that provide such stellar thermal efficiency. We believe our technologies fundamentally change the equation.”

The financing round was led by Wireframe Ventures, with participation from Overture Climate VC, Long Journey Ventures, Cantos, Toba Capital, First Star Ventures, Divergent Capital, and Climate Capital.

Paul Straub, Managing Partner at Wireframe Ventures, said:

“We believe Bedrock Energy will significantly lower the carbon intensity and cost to heat and cool commercial buildings. We are so impressed by this team’s approach to product. They have built a solution that can scale in a market where federal incentives, decarbonization mandates and rising energy prices are all conspiring to form a perfect moment for Bedrock’s mission.”