Factor2 Energy, a German geothermal innovator, has raised a $9.1 million seed round led by At One Ventures, with participation from High-Tech Gründerfonds, Gründerfonds Ruhr, Verve Ventures, and Siemens Energy Ventures.
Factor2 Energy is a climatetech company developing geothermal power systems that use CO₂ as the working fluid to tap moderate-temperature resources, delivering up to twice the output of conventional designs while avoiding fracking, ultra-deep drilling, and water-intensive processes. Its mission is to unlock scalable, clean, baseload geothermal power while enabling permanent carbon storage.
The company is led by Michael Wechsung, Joerg Strohschein, and Felix Boehmer, who previously worked together at Siemens Energy, where they pioneered an economically superior approach that replaces water or brine with CO₂ in the geothermal cycle.
Factor2’s CO₂-based system converts natural CO₂ reservoirs and CCS storage sites into reliable baseload power via a closed-loop thermosiphon that circulates CO₂ without subsurface pumps, cutting parasitic energy use and mechanical complexity. At the surface, a direct-drive CO₂ turbine converts heat to electricity, and the fluid is cooled and reinjected, preserving long-term CO₂ storage. Under comparable geology, the approach can deliver up to twice the output of water-based systems while lowering CAPEX.
Because CO₂ flows efficiently at lower temperatures and pressures, Factor2 can tap shallower, cooler resources that are uneconomic for conventional geothermal, reducing drilling costs and widening the map of viable sites. The design also avoids secondary fluids and complex binary systems, supporting a competitive levelized cost of electricity and turning CO₂ storage sites into productive energy assets.
Factor2 Energy will use its seed funding to advance the technology and develop a pilot power plant to demonstrate scalability.
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