Hades Mining, a Munich-based deep-tech startup, has emerged from stealth mode with a €5.5 million pre-seed round to develop breakthrough drilling systems that access ultra-deep geothermal energy and critical mineral deposits. The round was led by Project A, with participation from Visionaries Tomorrow, Founders Factory, and strategic angels from aerospace, energy, and advanced manufacturing, including Florian Seibel, Roman Hölzl, Daniel Wiegand, Moritz von der Linden, Hélène Huby, Dr Nicolas Burkardt, and the Viessmann Generations Group.
Founded in 2025 by Dr Max Werner, Björn Dressler, and Dan Gengenbach, Hades Mining is on a mission to transform how Europe accesses its underground resources. The company is building a new class of drilling and subsurface access systems designed to operate directly across energy and mineral projects, targeting previously unreachable depths with precision and sustainability in mind.
“Europe can’t lead the energy transition while depending on others for the building blocks of modern life,” said Dr Max Werner, Founder and CEO of Hades Mining. “We’re working hard to bring the entire process under one roof – from licence to production – combining the speed and precision of a tech company with the responsibility and staying power of a resource owner. Our goal is to help build a new standard for accessing minerals and energy at depth, and to do it in a way that’s transparent, sustainable, and future-focused.”
Europe’s dependency on external sources for over 90% of its critical minerals and more than half of its energy has prompted policy shifts like the EU Critical Mineral Act and Germany’s push to fast-track geothermal energy. Hades Mining is stepping into this gap with technology aimed at extracting resources from extreme depths where conventional methods fail.
The company’s proprietary systems target deep geothermal reservoirs and mineral formations using in-situ recovery (ISR), a fluid-circulation technique that avoids traditional open-pit excavation. This allows Hades to tap stable baseload heat and high-value mineral outputs while minimising environmental impact.
“Access to energy and critical minerals is essential for any nation to remain independent, secure, and productive – and to give itself the greatest chance of democratic stability,” said Jack Wang, Partner at Project A, continuing with: “Hades is working to ensure Europe can depend on these resources for the long term. It’s a decisive step towards the resilience our continent needs. Energy is the next sovereign frontier.”
“Hades is advancing the frontier with a breakthrough system built for unprecedented speed, scale, and precision,” added Thong Le Hoang, Partner at Visionaries Tomorrow. “By taking a systems-level approach to target the industry’s true bottlenecks, not just isolated lab results, the team turns deep tech into a strategic asset, unlocking one of the most consequential economic and impact opportunities of our time.”
With a vertically integrated model, Hades retains ownership of the full lifecycle, from licensing and drilling to production, ensuring knowledge gained directly enhances its technology and operations. This strategy allows the company to accelerate project timelines, reduce costs and maintain high standards of transparency and sustainability.
The pre-seed funds will go towards advancing Hades’ technologies and preparing its first project sites for mineral and geothermal energy extraction. By targeting European demand across sectors like electric vehicles, renewable energy, semiconductors and district heating, Hades aims to become a cornerstone of the continent’s energy independence and industrial resilience.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/08/munich-based-hades-mining-raises-e5-5-million-to-unlock-europes-deepest-energy-reserves/
