Hades emerges with ‘superheated’ drill to tap Europe’s underground energy and minerals
20 aug. 2025
08:00
Hades Mining has emerged from stealth with €5.5m in pre-seed funding from some of Europe’s leading deep tech VCs and founders.
The Munich-based startup is developing a secretive “superheated” drilling system that could cut the cost of geothermal energy projects and open access to Europe’s hard-to-reach critical minerals.
Early hints suggest the tech may draw inspiration from fusion energy-grade laser technology.
“We see ourselves as a resilience company, directly addressing the need to secure Europe's sovereign access to energy and resources,” Max Werner, Hades’ co-founder and CEO, tells Impact Loop.
The Munich-based startup is developing a secretive “superheated” drilling system that could cut the cost of geothermal energy projects and open access to Europe’s hard-to-reach critical minerals.
Early hints suggest the tech may draw inspiration from fusion energy-grade laser technology.
“We see ourselves as a resilience company, directly addressing the need to secure Europe's sovereign access to energy and resources,” Max Werner, Hades’ co-founder and CEO, tells Impact Loop.
Europe could power its entire economy using heat from Earth’s core – in theory.
Harnessing geothermal energy is currently prohibitively expensive across most of the continent, save for a few places where water boils close to the surface, such as parts of Iceland or Italy.