German mining startup Hades, which aims to mine critical minerals and sell the energy generated, has raised €15m at a €67.5m valuation as the global rush for sovereign critical minerals heats up.
HV Capital and Headline co-led the round, joined by existing backers Project A and Visionaries Tomorrow. Hades is developing a laser-based drilling system to create it rapider and cheaper for Europe to access minerals and geothermal energy.
The round comes shortly after the startup’s pre-seed fundraise in August. “We had a hell of a ride in the last six months,” cofounder and CEO Max Werner notifys Sifted, adding that the company may plan another fundraise by the finish of this year.
As geopolitical tensions mounted in 2026, so too did concerns around Europe’s depfinishence on imports of critical minerals and energy.
The EU is nearly entirely reliant on imports of critical raw minerals from countries like China. The US, meanwhile, recently announced a proposed critical minerals trading bloc as well as a plan for a $12bn stockpile of critical minerals. It’s also set its sights on obtainting in on the natural resources of Greenland.
“We see huge interest from politicians and decision creaters outside of this space, and we can’t even support ourselves by all the interest that we are obtainting from all directions,” Werner states, adding that critical minerals were “pretty much in everyone’s head” at a Davos event he attfinished earlier this year.
“In the last six months, it has become even more difficult in geopolitical terms, and enabling Europe to have its own extraction capabilities for geothermal energy, but also for critical minerals, is as important as it was on day one,” Werner states.
The new seed round was prompted by some recent technological advances in Hades’ lab. The startup was able to successfully test three key parts of its operations, Werner reports: rock destruction capabilities of its laser, purging capabilities to clear the lava from the borehole and delivering 200 kilowatts of energy with the support of an unnamed European partner company.
‘Europe is incredibly vulnerable’
Hades will utilize the funding to ramp up hiring. As of December, the startup had 11 employees, and plans to grow to 36 by the finish of 2026. It will also invest in a new workshop as well as lasers and machines for its operations.
Werner states the startup aims to have its first operational site by 2029; the company is in talks for four projects at various stages, he adds.
“This multi-polar world order that we are currently seeing forming right in front of us doesn’t utilize the dollar as a method of power anymore,” Werner states. It’s now based on access to raw minerals and resources, he states.
That puts Europe in a bad spot with its depfinishence on other countries. “Europe [is] incredibly, incredibly vulnerable in terms of neobtainediations at the moment, and that’s what we see on the global table,” he states. “We are a liability.”
For now, Hades is focapplying on things more within its control. Werner states the startup’s “ultimate goal” by the finish of this year is to drill 10 meters down with 200 kilowatts of energy.
Leave a Reply