General Galactic, a pioneer in fossil-free fuel generation technology, founded by former SpaceX and Varda Space Industries engineers Halen Mattison and Luke Neise, to bring aerospace industry engineering principles to tackle the climate challenge, has closed a US$ 8m seed funding round, bringing the total investment in the company to US$ 10m.
The investment was co-led by Harpoon Ventures and Refactor Capital, with participation from Pathbreaker, BoxGroup, Seraphim, Plug and Play, Impact First and Climate Capital.
The investment will accelerate the development and deployment of General Galactic’s proprietary Genesis technology, which transforms industrial CO2 waste streams into fossil-free natural gas. The company plans to expand its engineering team to pursue its goal of building commercial fossil-free natural gas generation plants worldwide. It is already producing 2,000 litres of methane per day in pilot testing, with commercial deployments planned for as early as 2025
Halen Mattison, CEO and co-founder, General Galactic said: “We started General Galactic to be the energy company of the future. Our vision is ultimately to build a gas station on Mars while producing clean, fossil-free energy on Earth along the way. This funding allows us to move toward mass commercialisation of our technology, creating a fossil-free world with abundant high-density energy.”
The Genesis system is claimed to represent a breakthrough in sustainable fuel technology that works with existing energy infrastructure while eliminating fossil fuel dependency. The technology targets shipping among other heavy industry sectors, where carbon reduction requirements and long-term capital investments will demand consistent access to low-emission, high-density fuels.
Luke Neise, General Galactic CTO and co-founder said: “A fossil-free future shouldn’t abandon all of our energy infrastructure—it should work with it. Our technology produces 100% clean fuel compatible with today’s infrastructure. We call this decarbonisation without destruction, meaning the green transition can happen sooner and with less cost to critical industries.”
This round follows the company’s US$ 2m pre-seed funding in August 2023, led by BoxGroup and Refactor Capital. General Galactic plans to deploy Genesis modules as soon as 2025, with fuel offtake reservations available immediately.
General Galactic says it prioritises first principles engineering design—a scientific approach refined by SpaceX that breaks down problems to their fundamental core, questioning every assumption along the way. The team believes this approach will yield a more elegant and reliable solution for generating sustainable fossil-free fuels.
Zal Bilimoria, Refactor Capital founder said: “We’re immensely impressed with Halen and Luke’s vision and fully expect their company to meaningfully move the world toward more renewable energy sources while bringing a pragmatic approach to these deeply critical, albeit entrenched, heavy industries that require energy-dense fuels.”
Image: Halen Mattison and Luke Neise, General Galactic (credit: Business Wire)
