California-based General Galactic, which is developing methods to generate fossil-free energy, announced that it has raised $8 million in seed funding, bringing total investment in the company to $10 million.

Founded in 2023 by former SpaceX and Varda Space Industries engineers Halen Mattison and Luke Neise, General Galactic is developing a modular hardware platform that captures CO2 and converts it into 100% renewable, synthetic hydrocarbon fuel, that is directly compatible with existing energy infrastructure.

The new capital will be used to accelerate the development and deployment of General Galactic’s Genesis technology, which transforms industrial CO2 waste streams into fossil-free natural gas.

Mattison 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 commercialization of our technology, creating a fossil-free world with abundant high-density energy.”

General Galactic’s first product is fossil-free natural gas, which the company says is a 100% clean replacement for conventional natural gas. General Galactic is currently targeting the maritime shipping, agriculture and heavy industry sectors, where carbon reduction requirements and long-term capital investments will demand consistent access to low-emission, high-density fuels.

The company is also developing the full production stack for these fuels and says it has a proven pilot system producing 2,000 liters of methane per day. It plans to deploy Genesis modules as soon as 2025.

Neisse 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 decarbonization without destruction, meaning the green transition can happen sooner and with less cost to critical industries.”

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 current round follows the company’s $2 million pre-seed funding in August 2023, led by BoxGroup and Refactor Capital.

Zal Bilimoria, Founder of Refactor Capital, 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”