Germany’s Telura exits stealth with €4 million pre-Seed to unlock geothermal energy with electric impulse drilling

Telura, a Munich-based DeepTech startup enabling geothermal energy everywhere through next-generation drilling, announced today that it has raised €4M in a pre-Seed round during Autumn 2025. 

The round was raised from Nucleus Capital, Possible Ventures, and First Momentum. In addition to the funding, the company has also entered a validation agreement with Leipzig-based breakthrough innovation agency SPRIND, planning to begin its market entry in 2026.

“Philipp and Andrew bring the rare combination of relentless execution and technical depth needed to solve deep geothermal’s core engineering challenge at unprecedented speed. Their approach to drilling without mechanical wear will unlock unlimited baseload green energy almost anywhere on Earth, finally taking geothermal from a niche resource to a scalable solution,” says Dr Maximilian Ochs, Investment Manager, First Momentum.

Founded in 2025 by Philipp Engelkamp and Andrew Welling, Telura develops electric impulse drilling technology that uses high-voltage pulses to break rock from within, instead of grinding. The company claims that this approach enables faster, more cost-efficient access to geothermal resources.

According to Telura, Europe is running out of time to close its energy gap. The company notes that the rise of AI and electrification is increasing demand, while initiatives to reduce dependency on imports are expanding to enhance resilience against geopolitical shocks and protect Europe’s industrial competitiveness. It warns that without action, Europe’s reserve margins could run out as soon as 2029.

“Intermittent renewables and fossil fuels alone won’t be enough to fill this gap in time. Powering the next era requires a 24/7 supply of reliable baseload power directly tapped into the grid,” said co-founder and CEO of Telua, Philipp Engelkamp. 

Telura believes that geothermal energy could provide Europe with the constant supply of emission-free, low-cost, and always-on energy it needs. It highlights that just 1% of superhot rock geothermal could meet global demand eight times over. However, reaching these resources economically at scale has proven difficult.

Accessing heat sufficient to power cities and industries involves drilling 5-20km deep, but conventional drill bits tend to wear out rapidly when encountering hard granites and high underground temperatures.

“Drilling accounts for up to 70% of the project costs. Many projects are dead before they are even started,” added Engelkamp.

To address this, instead of grinding, Telura applies high-voltage electrical pulses to break the rock from within. Engelkamp describes it as “destroying rock with lightning”.

Telura’s co-Founder and CTO, Andrew Welling, said, “Electric impulse drilling offers the most direct and scalable path to industrialising next-generation geothermal since the technology is already proven.” What remains is an engineering challenge: turning that scientific foundation into a system that runs reliably and economically in the field.“

According to the company, the technology is built on over two decades of research from Germany’s top technical universities and has already demonstrated efficient granite rock breakage.

“Our technology integrates with existing drilling systems, which sets us up to move fast, with the first market entry in 2026. With close access to world-class technical talent and partners, we’re in a strong position to drive this collaborative innovation forward,” Engelkamp added. 

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