Seed funding came from venture firms committed to deep tech.
Co-founders Halen Mattison and Luke Neise announced the closing of an $8 million seed round for their startup General Galactic, a pioneer in fossil-free fuel generation technology. The two former SpaceX and Varda Space Industries engineers are taking on climate change with their arsenal of aerospace industry engineering principles.
The entrepreneur duo is presenting a breakthrough technology for producing fossil-free natural gas and carbon-neutral fuels from waste CO2 emissions. They have achieved production of 2,000 liters of methane daily in pilot testing and are now setting up commercial deployments for early 2025.
General Galactic began by prioritizing the first principles of engineering design—a scientific approach refined by SpaceX that breaks down problems to their fundamental core, questioning every assumption along the way. The co-founders believe this approach will yield a more elegant and reliable solution for generating sustainable fossil-free fuels, both on Earth and beyond.
“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,” said CEO Mattison. “This funding allows us to move toward mass commercialization of our technology, creating a fossil-free world with abundant high-density energy.”
The $8 million seed round brings the startup’s total investment in the company to $10 million. 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 team had a specific goal in selecting their investment partners, seeking funds from those with hands-on experience and a track record of success in deep tech. Refactor and Harpoon’s investments in the space and climate companies, Astranis and Solugen, made the two venture firms attractive partners.
Having achieved initial production, the recent funding will accelerate the company’s development and deployment of its proprietary technology and the expansion of its engineering team. Also, Mattison and Neise are now closer to their ambitious goal of building commercial fossil-free natural gas generation plants across the globe.
Their targets are maritime shipping, agriculture, and heavy industry sectors. Those areas are where carbon reduction requirements and long-term capital investments demand consistent access to low-emission, high-density fuels. Called “Genesis”, the breakthrough technology works with existing energy infrastructure while eliminating fossil fuel dependency.
“A fossil-free future shouldn’t abandon all of our energy infrastructure—it should work with it,” said Neise, General Galactic’s CTO and co-founder. “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.”
